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COMMEMORATIVE POEMS 



DAVID N. JOHNSON 



LYNN, MASS. 

The Nichols Press — Thos. p. Nichols 

1893 



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Copyright, i8q2. 
By DAVID N JOHNSON, Lynn, Mass. 



PRINTED BY THOS. P. NICHOLS, LYNN, MASS. 



In Memory of 
ffiy £>q?arf<tf WiU, 

AND TO THE 

€§iftoen ©§o gur&i&e, 
I Dedicate this little Volume 

AS THE MOST PRECIOUS LEGACY 

IT IS IN MY POWER 

TO BESTOW. 



PREFACE. 



A preface should contain what the readers of the book thus an- 
nounced, ought to know, concerning the purpose of the author. 
This preface is written with this end in view. The contents of 
this volume were prepared, for the most part, for various com- 
memorative occasions, observed in our city through a period of 
nearly forty years. 

The several organizations thus represented constitute a large 
factor in a community among whom the author has lived almost 
from infancy. This work, therefore, has an interest to the people of 
Lynn, and a local character peculiar to itself, representing a certain 
phase of the literature of our community. It is proper to add, 
that the writer of these lines had no intention of giving them this 
more permanent form until he had received assurance, from those 
best qualified to judge, that it would be a welcome addition to 
whatever the archives of our city contain of the literary productions 
of its citizens. 

Of the quality of this work he cannot, of course, speak. He 
may be permitted to say, however, that he has no idle and false 
pretense to offer as an apology for his performance. He has no 

(v) 



vi PREFACE. 

intention, therefore, of saying to his readers — who are largely his 
friends and acquaintances — that these lines were the hasty produc- 
tion 'of a few precious hours now and then snatched from the 
exacting demands of a laborious profession ; for this would not be 
true. Whatever the degree of merit that belongs to this work, or 
to anything he has written, whether in prose or verse, the writer 
has done his ^best, or as nearly so as circumstances permitted; 
and he would have done better if he had possessed higher en- 
dowments and a wider culture. 

The few German translations, made many years ago, will not, 
it is hoped, lessen the value of this collection ; and the few pieces 
not strictly commemorative in their character, or those commem- 
orative only of personal qualities, rather than of public events, 
will hardly be regarded as an irrelevant addition. 

It is not, then, with indifference, that the author commits this 
little venture to the waves of time. If, on its way to the oblivion 
that sooner or later is the destiny of all perishable things, it shall 
linger a little while among the "Enchanted Islands" of popular 
favor before it reaches the Lethean lake, his highest expectations 
will be realized. 

D. N. J. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

High Rock. Written in Youth 1 

High Rock. Fifty Years Later 2 

Welcome to Kossuth 26 

The Dying Year 29 

To Eighteen Hundred Fifty-Two 32 

Jack Frost's Address 35 

Lines Suggested by the Name — "Our Oracle" 38 

The March of Freedom. Read at the Anniversary of the Young- 
Men's Debating- Society, 1856 42 

Spring 54 

A Funeral Thought. By Bayard Taylor 56 

Lines Suggested on Reading "A Funeral Thought " 59 

The Playgrounds of My Childhood Days 61 

On the Death of Alonzo Lewis, January, 1861 63 

Childhood. Read before a Literary Circle 65 

Lines Suggested by the Death of M. H. A 67 

Hymn. Sung at the Installation of Rev. Elbridge G. Brooks, 1850 ... 70 

Hymn. Sung at the Installation of Rev. Sumner Ellis, 1860 72 

Hymn. Sung at the Installation of Rev. Charles IV. Biddle. 1863 ... 74 
Hymn. Sung at the Re-dedication of the First Universalist Church, Union 

Street, 1864 76 

On the Death of Col. Ellsworth. 1861 78 

To the Memory of E. A. R 80 

The Proclamation of Emancipation, 1863 83 

Hymn. Sung at the Obsequies of President Lincoln, at First Universa- 
list Church, 1865 85 

Hymn. Sung at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the First Universalist 

Church, May 27, 1872 87 

(vii) 



viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Hymn. Sung at the Dedication of the Ingalls School-House, 1872 ... 89 

Memorial Ode. For Decoration Day, 1875 91 

A Pastor's Welcome Home. Rev. C. W. Biddle, 1878 93 

Ode. Sung at the 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of Lynn, 1879 . 95 
Lines. Read at a Concert of the First Universalist Sunday School, 1878, 

Swampscott Branch 96 

Dedicatory Hymn. First Universalist Church, Nahant Street. 1873 . 102 

Skating by Moonlight 104 

Poem. Read at the Reunion of the Young Men's Debating Society. 1881. 

— A Retrospect 109 

Hymn. Sung at the Semi-Centennial Services of the First Universalist 

Society, Lynn, April 29, 1883 115 

Lines. Read at the Seventieth Anniversary of John W. Hutchinson . 117 
Hymn. Sung at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the High School- 
House, October, 1890 124 

A Reminiscence. Read at the Reunion of the Young Men's Debating 

Society, 1891 126 

In Memoriam. Cyrus M. Tracy, September, 1891 132 

Lines. Read at the Forty-first Anniversary of the Exploring Circle, 1891 137 
New Light to Man is Come. Sung at a Special Service held January, 

1892 147 

Hymn. Sung at the Dedication of the High School-House, June 17, 1892 . 149 

Mount Gilead. The Planting of Memorial Trees 152 

A Harvest Hymn. For Columbian Year, 1892 157 

In Memoriam. John T. Moulton, October, 1892 163 

Columbian Sonnet 166 

John G. Whittier 167 

Tennyson 171 

translations from the german. 

The Minstrel's Curse. From the German of Uhland 172 

The Division of the Earth. From the German of Schiller .... 177 

Little Anna. From the German of Rosalie Koch 180 

The Midnight Walk. From the German of Herwegh 184 

The Wise Man and the Fool. From the German of Nicolai .... 188 

Laura at Prayer. From the German of Matthesson 190 

Notes 193 




(Written in Yputh.) 



I love to stand upon thy brow, 
When all around is hushed to sleep; 

When not a voice nor sound is heard, 
Save the low murmur of the deep. 

When stars with radiant beauty shine, 
And moonbeams shed their silvery light; 

While ocean sparkles in the rays, 
Reflected by the queen of night. 



When golden clouds lie in the west, 
At close of day, at brink of even, 

Lifting on high their tow'ring heads, 
O'er half the canopy of heaven. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



No pencil could the beauties trace, 
Though guided by a master's hand ; 

Nor painter paint the gorgeous scene, 
Which far outvies the fairy land. 



(Fifty years later.) 



Long years have passed since first 1 stood 
A boy upon thy rugged brow ; 

I 'd paint the picture, if I could, 
As it was then — and now. 



The gentle murmur of the waves 
Falls on my ear to-day, as then; 

The roaring when the tempest raves, 
Then heard — I hear again. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Nahant then lay, as now — a gem, 
Enshrined along the gleaming" shore; 

The same transcendent diadem, 
That day — as now — she wore. 



1 heard her craggy sentinels, 

Their sun-burnt faces dashed with foam, 
Repeat the story freedom tells, 

" Thus guard your hearth and home." 

I saw the onset, heard the shock, 
As they hurled back the surging blow, 

While answering thunder seemed to mock 
The fury of the foe. 



Gray battlements of ages past, 
Emblem of justice pillared deep, 

In earth's foundations that shall last 
While time his records keep, — 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



How flashed your bastions as the sun 
Lit up the spray — the battle o'er — 

Your banners gay with victory won, 
Waving from shore to shore. 

And then another rapt'rous scene; 

What panoramic splendors lay 
As wood and wave and air serene, 

Pictured that summer day. 

Morn's heralds were the tinted clouds, 
Whose gorgeous drapery decked the skies, 

That flitting like e'er-changing shrouds, 
Gave glimpse of Paradise. 



The crimson sun ascending slow, 
On fiery column seemed to rest, 

A pillared flame — from far below, 
It reached the ocean's crest. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Far out to sea the fisher's boat, 

Rocked on the gently swelling' wave, 
Far up in air the sea-bird's note, 

Its pleasing discord gave. 

* 

But what comes here, this Gorgon dire, 1 
That says unto the waves "Turn back! 

That belches clouds of smoke and fire, 
And thunders, "Clear the track!" 



And to the billows mounting high, 
And to the tempest seems to say, — 

" Still toss the little boat, but I 
O'er winds and tides bear sway. 



" Ye cannot gulf me in the deep 

Of angry waters raving wild ; 
Whirlwinds may make your white caps leap 

As wave on wave is piled. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



" I scorn your strength to toss at will 
The iron-ribbed monster man has made 

The noblest product of his skill, 
Since the first keel was laid." 



And landward still another scene: 
The humble weather-stained abodes 

Lay, nestling, scattered o'er the green, 
Where now are leveled roads. 



And here and there the curling smoke, 2 
Bears odorous incense on the breeze ; 

And now is heard the hammer's stroke, 
From shop half hid by trees. 

The little twelve -foot structure where 
The sons of Crispin earned their bread, 

And sang their songs and plied with care 
The awl and waxen thread. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Where might be seen the gossip's chair, 
Where sat and dozed the veteran sire, 

Who 'd carried in his last-made " pair," 
Built his last morning fire. 



The memories of that olden time ! 

The pictured walls once more 1 see ; 
And hear the song with limping rhyme, 

As sung by Uncle D. 



For many a waggish crew was found, 
Beneath that little narrow roof ; 

That many a witty joke went round, 
We still have living proof. 

And as he hammered out his shoe, 
From open windows there would float 

Old songs with chorus from the " crew," 
Not often sung by note. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



And so the hammer's stroke and song, 
And merry laughter mingled free ; 

As some sang right and more sang wrong — 
' T was hardly harmony. 



Each sang the tune which he liked best, 
(Though he'd not learned to sing at all,) 

His strength of lungs the only test, 
Or mirth provoking drawl. 



The old fugue tunes were common then, 
And some who sang them " went it blind ; " 

Then one with vocal powers of ten 
Roared grandly in behind. 



For he was great upon a " slur," 
And as the stragglers found their place, 

A shout that made the rafters stir, 
Ended the vocal race. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



There sons and sires sat side by side, 
Shared the same candle's glimm'ring light, 

Talked of the storm and rising tide, 
Or of old Concord's fight. 



Sometimes a song from Freedom's lyre, 
Soft echoes woke in evening's calm ; 

Or reverent youth and aged sire 
Sang the same sacred psalm. 



" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand," 
Oft struck the stranger's list'ning ear, 
Or some grand hymn of father-land, 
Adoring hearts held dear. 



Now, " Home, sweet home " the lay would be, 
Whose strains to every land belong ; 

Or swelled " My Country, 't is of thee," 
The patriot's deathless song. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Sometimes the prattling child stood near, 
And made sad work with papa's " kit," 

Or pulled its father's down-bent ear, 
And chuckled o'er its wit. 



"Ah, this won't do, you little — witch, 

You've lost my 'tacks' among the 'scraps 
You '11 learn full soon to ' sew and stitch,' 
Perhaps, bind Benny's 'slaps,' 



" Come, Benny, take the darling home, 
Your mother 's got her washing done ; 
(Do n't she look ' cute ' in that shell comb ? 
That 's just her mother's fun.) 



"Tell mother if she's bound that shoe, 
To send it over right away ; 
Some time this afternoon won't do, — 
And now do n't stop and play. 



COMMEMORATIVE 'POEMS. 



" See Dick ! there comes the man you owe, 
Get up in the shop chamber, quick ! 
We '11 tell him you 've been on a ' blow ; ' " 
And then up mounted Dick. 



" Does Richard J. work here ? " " He did, 
But he's gone fishing up the Straits; 
You '11 have hard work to catch that ' kid 
1 guess I '11 see Squire Gates. 

" Come, Dick, go get a quart of ' New,' 
I guess we 've fixed this matter up ; 
Don't stop to hammer out that shoe, 
And bring some sort of cup." 



The dear old shops beside the hill, 
A thousand old-time scenes recall ; 

I seem to hear their voices still, 
Their far-off echoes fall. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



The shops where toiled the veteran sires, 
A few sad relics now remain ; 

And now round memory's altar fires, 
Unheard, a low refrain, 



The spirit sings of days gone by ; 

Of youth that comes not back, nor joys 
That in time's urn with many a sigh, 

The old count o'er their toys. 



But youth mourns not for joys unknown, 
Nor scenes that never blessed their sight ; 

No requiem sung for pleasures flown, 
Darkens their morning light. 



And so the sons with faces set 

Eastward, shall hail the coming day ; 

With life's new wine their lips are wet, 
They dance life's roundelay. 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 13 



But northward what are these that rise, 
Brick structures that o'er-top the few 

Old dwellings hidden from our eyes ? 
A picture — old and new. 

Their smoking chimneys tower on high, 
And the fierce fires that burn within, 

Make million wheels unwearied fly, 
Amid unceasing din. 

They sew and stitch with waxen thread ; 

They cut the soles, and pond'rous weights 
The hammer's stroke supply instead, 

And ply like ancient Fates. 

They pare the edge and gloss the heel, 
Drive pegs and nails with single stroke, 

And all this multitude of wheels 
Seem touched with fire and smoke. 



i 4 COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 



And one by one the old give way 
To costly block or mansion fine ; 

And squares where children stopped to play, 
Now see a lengthening" line, 



Where eager men and women crowd, 
Through what was once the narrow lane, 

Where traffic's din becomes more loud, 
More fierce the strife for gain. 



From factory and from shop they throng, 
At stroke of bell or whistle's scream, 

And street cars crowded roll along, 
The poor man's coach and team. 

But what is this that skirts the shore, 
And cuts in twain the Eastern hills, - 

That flies the iron pathway o'er, 
And man with wonder fills? 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 15 



Like fiery dragon rushing on, 

Its nostrils snorting sparks and smoke ; 
While wreathed the brow of Stephenson 

With laurel and the oak. 



Through weary years he toiled to show, 
The high-born of his native land ; 

The latent power in earth below, 
Waiting the high command, 



That knowledge utters to mankind — 
" Harness the winds that for you wait ; 

Unchain the elements, and find 
The key that unlocks fate ! " 



And lo! a greater wonder far 4 

Than that which drives the fiery steeds 
The flash that flies from star to star, 

Now serves creation's needs. 



1 6 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Wonder of wonders ! who shall tell 
The marvels of the present age ? 

What poet weave the storied spell 
That e'en the mighty sage, 



Great Franklin when he wooed the clouds, 
And recked not of the danger fraught, 

Dreamed not the mystery that shrouds 
The messenger he sought. 

His paper kite and silken string 
Were harbingers, whose message bore 

More than the bolt with dreaded wing, 
Whose deadly shaft forebore 

To touch the life of him who dared, 
At Nature's altar risk his fate — 

While cynics sneered and folly stared, 
As Science oped her gate. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 17 



Near thirty years the street-cars drawn 
By steeds, man's servant from the time 

When Hebrew sage in Time's gray dawn 
In imagery sublime 



Set forth his noble attributes ; — 
Now the electric current bears 

Them swifter on, while lightning shoots 
Beneath, and fiercely glares. 



And near at hand the time when man 
Shall use the steeds of air, and say 

To the winged lightning: "Take the van!" 
To the iron steeds : " Give way ! " 



And so ere long the loaded train, 
With locomotive's thundering roar, 

Shall fly as eagle sweeps the main, 
Bound for the distant shore. 



1 8 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Favored of Fortune, lovely Lynn, 
Girt with her gem-emblazoned shore, 

Whose murmur soothes the city's din, 
We prize thee more and more. 



Thy forest hills in summer's calm 5 

Send their soft notes on zephyrs' wings 

And every breeze swells Nature's psalm, 
And every bird that sings. 



And standing near thee, Ancient Rock, 
How vast the volume of thy lore ! 

How dost thy age-crowned grandeur mock 
The baubles men count o'er. 



Old when the pyramids were young, 
Co-equal with the morning star ; 

Thou heard'st Creation's anthem sung, 
Since rolled earth's circling car. 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 19 



Primeval Rock, thy eyes have seen 
The wonders Nature has revealed ; 

To him who reads the lines between 
Her pages are unsealed. 



A thousand times ten thousand years, 
Since Chaos heard the voice of Him 

Who leads through scenes of hope and fears 
The world by pathways dim — 



What empires rose and flourished, fell ; 

Chieftains in war and kings in peace, 
Of these old hieroglyphics tell, 

And will, till time shall cease. 



But thou a nearer look bent down 
Upon the child beneath thy feet; 

Thine own beloved Lynn the crown, 
That makes thy reign complete. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Her other jewels round thee lie, 
Dear as before they left the home ; 

Lynnfield and Saugus still are nigh, 
And near the ocean's foam, 



Nahant and Swampscott see thy form, 
And their brave sons their mother greet, 

And see, through mists and gathering storm, 
Thee on thy queenly seat. 



The grandeur of thy lofty view, 
What scores the endless joy have felt 

As Nature changed the old to new, 
And at her altar knelt. 



What notes rang forth in summer air, 
When the famed "Tribe of Jesse" stood" 

On thy calm heights, while gathered there 
The thronging multitude. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Within these fifty years thine eye 
Hath seen the youth and maidens fair 

Climb the Old Hill, with many a sigh, 
For Learning's fane was there. 



And long since to the fathers spoke 
Old Freedom, " Here like yonder Rock, 

My bulwarks stand to ward the stroke 
Of despot's battle shock. 



" Here like Rome's matron I count o'er 
My jewels, — Lynn a casket build 
Fit to enshrine treasures far more 
Than fabled genii willed. 



"And see before thee stands a pile 

That shall outlast the pyramid 
Old Egypt built near older Nile, 
By slaves at tyrants' bid." 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Couldst thou but break, O Ancient Rock, 
Thy sphinx-like silence, and couldst tell 

The terror and the palsying shock 
As struck the alarum bell, 7 



On that November day. Thine eyes 
Beheld our ancient heritage 

Ascend a flaming sacrifice, — 
Our history's saddest page. 



We heard Despair exclaim — "Behold! 

See the slow-gathered fruit of years, 
Like Sodom's apples, seeming gold, 

Drop ashes 'mid our tears." 



But Hope sang still her cheering strain : 
" Lynn from her dust shall yet arise ; " 
And soon was heard the glad refrain : 
" Her courage never dies." 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



And soon the stately piles arose ; 

New avenues in lengthening lines 
Told our young men that Fortune flows 

To them who trust her signs. 



Long years, Old Rock, since first I gazed, 
And saw the sun, a ball of fire, 

Rise up ; and while the ocean blazed, 
His chariot mounted higher. 



Short years, though nearly three score rounds 
Have rolled since first the silver chime 

Of life's sweet bells, their dulcet sounds 
Seemed ringing all the time. 



And yet not all ; a minor strain 
The mem'ries of those days recall, 

A low, sad monotone of pain 
I hear — the spirit's thrall. 



24 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



For childhood's sunny days are hued 
With griefs that childhood only knows ; 

Whose hearts are chilled by accents rude 
That blight their summer rose. 

Long years ! when through the checkered scenes, 

The curtain of the past unrolls, 
As step by step we learn what means 

The call to human souls. 



Remorseless Time ! thy ruthless hand 
Has changed the vale and mountain top 

The dear old homes no longer stand, 
Nor Crispin's cosy shop. 



But though the ocean rolls to-day, 
As it has rolled since time began; 

Though sunbeams glimmer in the spray, 
As seen by ancient man, 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 25 



Another spirit haunts the air, 

And whispers what the years have taught; 
Life's mottled web of hope and care, 

The wisdom that it brought. 



The sea, the sky, the maple's flame, 
The varying tints of light and shade, 

And the Old Rock are still the same, 
As when a boy I played 



And climbed around thy ragged steep 
That loomed a mountain in my eyes' — 

Still memory shall forever keep 
The rapture and surprise. 



Thus sings the Old ; but, better still, 
We sing the New in loftier strain; 

The harvests of the past fulfil 
The promise made in pain. 



26 COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 



We drop the tear, we heave the sigh, 
Life's visions fade, the eye grows dim, 

The ghosts of buried hopes flit by — 
We sing our evening hymn. 



But Hope survives the wreck of years; 

Her song of cheer greets every clime ; 
And Faith triumphant o'er man's fears, 

Makes glad the march of time. 



Melcomc to mossutj. 



Welcome, brave Magyar ! on whose brow 
Nature has set her kingly seal ; 

A million hearts are beating now 
With joy that freemen only feel. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 27 



For joy, that 'neath our western skies 
The exile stands, whose honored name 

From land to land exulting flies, 
To kindle up crushed Freedom's flame. 



The loud acclaim that greets thy ears, 
Shall shake old Europe's tottering thrones ; 

Alarmed, each trembling despot hears, 
And startles at their thunder tones. 



And onward speeds the thrilling cry, 
That speaks the doom of tyrants all; 

As, when Belshazzar's end was nigh, 
He read his sentence on the wall. 



The Northern autocrat may frown 
Defiance at an outraged world, 

And " leagued oppression " trample down 
The flag that Justice has unfurled. 



28 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Yet know, brave leader of the brave, 
That Truth's eternal power shall stand 

Thy country, from her living grave, 
Shall rise at Liberty's command. 



And round the standard of the free 
Her noble sons shall yet be seen, 

As when swords gleamed in sympathy, 
Beneath the banner of their queen. 8 



Statesman and patriot! thee we own, 

Latest of the illustrious line 
That light like stars the moral zone, 

Leading the world to Freedom's shrine. 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 29 



Efyt 3igtng ¥eat. 



The earth is wrapped in winter's snowy shroud, 

Triumphant conqueror o'er the vanquished year ; 
The storm-king wildly sings his requiem loud, 

And Nature weeps, sad mourner o'er the hier. 

And man, too, weeps, for dead and buried here 
Lie blighted hopes, and many cherished dreams, 

That cheered the heart, and banished every fear. 
On youthful visions broke Hope's morning beams, 
Gilding" Fame's temple dome, that flashed with meteor 
gleams. 



Thou dying Year ! how bright thy rising sun 
To thousands sailing o'er life's tempting sea ! 

What tempests swept ere half thy race was run ! 
Upon the waves what strife for victory, 
Where strong Ambition fought for mastery 



30 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



O'er Fortune's ills. Oh, Year ! the scene behold ! 

The shore is strewn with trophies brought to thee. 
But now the bell of time thy knell has tolled; 
On history's blotted leaf thy deeds are all inscrolled. 

And yet, alas ! not all ; the darkest page 

Is written only on the human soul. 
That sacred grief which words can ne'er assuage, 

The recording angel marks, and hides the scroll ; 

For hope would perish, did man know the whole. 
Enough, insatiate year, thy records show 

To weary millions, struggling to their goal, 
Of strife, and blood, and every form of woe, 
Scourging the trembling world, and man, of man the foe. 

Still Hope survives amid the wreck of years, 
Though tyrants triumph, and though empires die. 

On Europe's soil, wet with her children's tears, 
The waving fields invite the reapers nigh. 
Come to the harvest ! is the startling cry 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 31 



That wakes an echo in the soul's vast deep ; 

And lo ! to lead the van a chief appears. 
Great Kossuth ! Heaven -appointed guard to keep 
The famished nations' trust ! with joy thy hand shall reap. 



Sad, fleeting Year, though now thy twilight flings 

A darker shadow, deepening into gloom, 
Be thou precursor of the day that brings 
The reign of Justice, and Oppression's doom, 
When Truth divine man's pathway shall illume. 
To stand forever on the roll of Time, 
Be this, oh, coming Year, upon thy tomb: 
" Here Liberty awoke ; here Faith sublime 
Viewed, as from Pisgah's top, Freedom's immortal clime." 



32 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



£o lEigijteen $un*re* jFiftg^tuo. 



The strong-lunged tempest sounds, oh, Year ! thy knell, 
And sullen storms have quenched the funeral pyre 

Which Autumn kindled, as the last farewell 
Of summer's songsters swept sad Nature's lyre. 



The pilot wild-bird saw the trees on fire, 

And to his mates screamed out a warning cry ; 

They saw the glories of the woods expire, 
And fled the ruins, for a southern sky. 



Rare are the trophies, mighty Year, that crown 
Thy conquering march, victor in every clime ; 

And is Destruction's work the chief renown 
That marks thy progress o'er the track of Time? 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 33 



The shades of Ashland hold the wasting dust 
Of one whose voice oft bade the nation pause ; 

One in whose counsel senates put their trust, — 
Whose memory liveth in his country's laws. 



Far o'er the waves, the " Mistress of the Seas," 
In sackcloth sitting, mourns her gallant son ; 

Her " meteor flag," that flames in every breeze, 
Bows its proud head in grief for Wellington. 



The tidings scarce had reached her empire's bounds, 
That the stern hero slept the dreamless sleep, 

When once again Death's marshalling trumpet sounds, 
And at its summons startled millions weep. 



Webster is dead ! the land is wrapped in gloom ! 

Peerless he stood ! — who shall his mantle wear ? 
A grief-bowed nation bears him to the tomb, 

And Faith and Hope, immortal, linger there. 



34 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



The din of battle ceased where armies rushed, 

When day's great king an hour his throne resigned ; 9 

Behold! the angry strife of party hushed, 
As fades a star from the vast dome of Mind. 



Is this thine only boast, remorseless Year, 
That earth's slain giants load thy triumph car ? 

Does life-sustaining hope, or withering fear, 

Inspire the heart as wanes thy long-watched star ? 



Though Freedom's exiles vainly looked to thee, 
The galling bands of tyranny to break, 

Hast thou not been the nurse of Liberty, 

Whose infant breathings keep the world awake ? 



The dread repose which Desolation brings, 
Is it not "sign portentous" of the hour 

When Justice, missioned from the King of kings, 
Shall crush Oppression 'neath her mighty power? 



COMMEMORATIVE 'POEMS. 35 



Just to thy memory shall the record be. 

It moves ! it moves ! brave Galileo cried ; 
Truth's orb rolls on, sublime in majesty, 

Though Error's clouds awhile her glory hide. 

Jack dftost's duress. 



Jack Frost came along one night in September, 
And laid his cold finger on herbage and flower; 

Said Jack — "I guess 1 will make 'em remember 
The time when I reigned in the pride of my power. 

" Ever since I 've been gone, my spies have been busy, 
To hear what was said, while 1 wandered afar; 
What John said, what Jane said, what said blue-eyed 
Lizzie, 
Of me, the stern monarch who drives the frost-car. 



36 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



" I packed up in haste, on my journey departed, 
To spend a few months on a bit of a ' tramp ; ' 
But not one lone tear from a single eye started, 
And some even called me a cold-hearted scamp. 

" And scarce had I got out of sight, or of hearing, 
Before every green blade popped up its young head — 
Too verdant to know that on my reappearing 
I 'd kill every upstart that sprang from his bed. 

" For I often return without giving warning, 

'And the wheels of my chariot with death strew 
the plain.' 
And Sol, my old foe, getting up in the morning, 
Is crimson with rage as he looks on the slain. 

" My spies have informed me that birds have been singing 
Among the green branches, all, all the day long ; 
That forest and mountain and vale have been ringing 
With music ascending from Nature's glad throng. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 37 



" That off to the green -wood the young maidens bounded, 
And danced round the May-pole in praises of Spring, 
But not one faint note to my memory was sounded, 
Except that they called me the dreaded Frost- King. 

" Few, few are the voices that now greet my coming, 
Though millions stand ready to bid me adieu ; 
The chorus of summer, the bees' busy humming 
Say plainly — ' Jack Frost we 've no welcome for you.' 

' ' The poor mark my footsteps with hearts full of sadness, 
For Want's haggard train follows close on my track ; 
Whose dim, spectral forms rob the future of gladness, 
While Hope, man's good angel, dejected, shrinks back. 

" The chilling reception which everywhere meets me 
1 answer with looks and with hand quite as cold ; 
And the laugh of the thoughtless young school-boy who 
greets me 
As Winter's forerunner but makes me more bold. 



38 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



" I walk into gardens, and if there still lingers 
An apple, a pear, or a peach within sight, 
I leave on its cheek the deep print of my fingers ; 
And quickly the news flies — ' Jack Frost came last 
night.' 

"And now, young and old, earth's pleasures pursuing, 
Attend to my counsel, and heed what I say : — 
Help the poor and the friendless, and thus humbly doing, 
The blessings of thousands will cheer life's dark way." 

<*^ 

Etnes Suggested tg tije iframe, — 
" ©ur ©racle." 10 



Unlike the oracles of old, 

That dark, unmeaning lessons taught, 
May this, " Our Oracle," unfold 

Truth's language, with instruction fraught. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 39 



Though at its shrine no sages bend, 
The future's hidden page to scan; 

Nor kings, with regal pomp attend, 
To learn what heaven conceals from man — 



Our humble vehicle of thought, 

Through mind's unbounded realm may run ; 
And teach, what Plato dimly sought — 

Man is immortal, God is one. 



Or may it soar on starry wings, 
To worlds that Newton ne'er explored ; 

And spread the page the lightning brings, 
With varied treasures richly stored. 



Proud Greece ! thy oracles are dumb ! 

Thy palaces in ruins lie! 
And slowly beats Time's " muffled drum," 

While men and empires fade and die. 



40 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Yet still, thy sons' heroic deeds, 

Burn brightly, lit by Freedom's sun,- 

While virtue lives, or valor bleeds, 
The world shall point to Marathon. 



Thy oracles are dumb! yet speaks 
The voice of rare old Socrates ; 

Still leap from all thy mountain peaks 
The thunders of Demosthenes. 



Thy Solon stemmed Oppression's flood, 
Whose billows swept thy classic land ; 

Purged a stern Draco's code of blood, 
And ruled thee with a gentler hand. 



And king of all the noble throng, 
Whose mighty sway the ages own, 

Thy peerless Homer, prince of song. 
On Fame's proud summit sits alone. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 41 



The " letters which thy Cadmus gave," 
On paths of flame to us have come ; 

They saved thee from oblivion's grave, 
While all thy oracles are dumb. 



Thy name shall live, immortal Greece ! 

For learning has preserved the scroll 
That tells thy fame in war, and peace, 

And nobler triumphs of the soul. 



But Knowledge shut her shining gates 
To all but fortune's favored ones; 

No humble schools adorned thy states, 
The Press taught not thy gallant sons. 



America ! we turn to thee ! 

Fair land ! that knows no mental dearth ; 
For where the pilgrim bent the knee 

The school-house rose to bless the earth. 



42 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



The book of Life our fathers read ; 

This was their oracle divine ; 
And by its light their hearts were led 

To worship at the Christian shrine. 



From forest church, the temple where 
Young Freedom drew her vital breath, 

Our Henry caught the exiles' prayer — 
The cry of, " Liberty or Death." 



Cije Jftarri) of dfrcetrom. 

(Read at the Anniversary of the Young Men's Debating Society, 1856.) 



A blast from Freedom's trumpet, loud and clear, 
Bursts on the slumb'ring nation's heavy ear ; 
Her voice more potent now than when she spoke 
To bid our fathers break a foreign yoke ; 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 43 



For Freedom then was young, or being old, 
Had pined in dungeons and her birth-right sold. 
Far back amid the gloom of Egypt's night 
Freedom yet breathed — not Pharaoh's arm of might 
Could stay her march, when God's appointed led 
The Hebrews from the land where slaves had bled. 



O Liberty ! weary from rack, and chain, 
Thy martyrs have not lived and died in vain; 
The reeking scaffold, prison walls, and stake, 
Rich with the world's best blood, bid thee awake 
To wear thy trampled crown — resume thy sway • 
Inspire man's trembling hope to wait the day 
When thy victorious arm shall rule the earth — 
The truth proclaim of thy immortal birth. 

Ages of dark oppression brought release, 
And lo ! thy banners wave o'er classic Greece ; 
At Solon's mighty word, stern Draco's law — 
The code of blood, that kept the land in awe, 



44 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Vanished like darkness at the coming light, 

And justice triumphed, right prevailed o'er might. 

But still thy reign was short ; time's flood rolled o'er 

Thy temples, patriots' graves, when thou once more 

Crushing the tyrant, dashing down the rod, 

" Take thy appeal from tyranny to God." 

No vain appeal, when thrice-armed justice sends 

Her prayer of faith to him whose fiat bends 

The despot's will to work in channels dark, 

And build for drowning Liberty an ark. 

See Roman valor to thy standard fly, 
Resolved for thee to live or nobly die ! 
Rome's mighty pulse that beat throughout the world 
Shook thrones to atoms — while thy flag unfurled, 
Inspired thy prophets waiting long for thee, 
To write upon the crumbling walls of tyranny, 
Belshazzar's doom — which God will execute 
Though sceptics scoff, and justice oft is mute. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 45 



Far o'er Judea's mountains sweetly sing 

The herald angels : " Lo, there comes a king 

To whose mild sceptre age -crowned Wrong shall yield, 

War's bloody cohorts leave the tented field, 

Captives for truth, from dungeon walls go free, 

And bondmen sing the praise of Liberty." 

But slow thy march, O Freedom ! o'er that light 

Which broke the darkness of a pagan night, 

The mantling veil of ignorance was hung; 

For thee no altars burned, no poets sung; 

Justice was silent, none dared plead for thee, 

Thy prophets cried, — " When shall thy coming be " ? 

But soon immortal Dante lights the fire 

In Freedom's temples, and retimes her lyre; 

His solemn song along the ages rolls, 

To leave a path of flame in kindred souls; 

When Milton, England's Homer, swells the strain 

Which kings and bigots sought to quench in vain, 



46 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



And bids its glorious and majestic chime 
Sweep on unprisoned by the gates of time. 



O doubting world ! ages proclaim that Truth, 
Immortal, blossoms in perpetual youth ; 
Error and Wrong grow old, and pine, and die ; 
While Right and Justice sit enthroned on high. 
From out the cloud that spreads its darkening pall, 
Freedom again sends forth her warning call ; 
And Wycliffe speaks — appeals from popes to God, 
While British hearts defy Rome's threat'ning rod. 



An age rolls on, and Huss, the martyr, dies ; 
His burning pyre illumines the moral skies ; 
Bohemia's wilds re-echo with his prayer — 
His voice, like John the Baptist's cries, prepare ! 
Forth from his dungeon, words prophetic fly, 
One mightier comes — his advent draweth nigh. 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 47 



Meanwhile the flag of Freedom proudly waves 
On Alpine heights — for there no cringing slaves 
Breathe the pure air, nor tyrants quench the flame 
That burns a beacon light and writes thy name, 
O Liberty, in characters so bright 
That Wrong grows pale, and trembles at the sight. 

Thy shrine within his heart, Columbus steers 
To find fulfilled the dream of early years ; 
A land by lords and minions never trod — 
Where foot of slave ne'er cursed the verdant sod; 
Land of majestic mountains, from whose peaks 
The eagle, Freedom's emblem, wildly shrieks ; 
Where sweeping rivers roll in tameless pride, 
Symbol of that free spirit which defied 
In later ages, England's vengeful stroke, 
And to all despots, words of terror spoke. 

Freedom, thy mightiest herald since the birth 
Of Empires, to arouse the drowsy earth — 



48 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



The Press appears ; and trembling, lynx-eyed power 
Builds up his barriers to delay the hour 
When thy swift angel with his burning wings 
Shall light thy fires beneath the throne of kings. 

The time draws nigh ; a monk's brave voice is heard 
Awak'ning souls with Truth's omnific word. 
Rome's baleful power, that chained the minds of men, 
Fears less the torch of war than Luther's pen. 
The thrones of Europe shake ; and now appear 
The hosts of Truth and Error — hope and fear 
Hang in the balance — while with faith sublime, 
Heroic spirits hail the coming time. 

The night of ages ends — the morning breaks — 
Science and art arise — the Gospel wakes 
New echoes in the chambers of the soul, 
And speaks to man of his immortal goal. 
Though great thy conquests, Freedom, greater far 
The victories that shall crown thy triumph car. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS 49 



New hosts shall aid thee ; steam and lightning" steeds 
Shall do thy bidding to proclaim the deeds 
Of every noble heart thy name inspires — 
While Press and Pulpit fan thine altar fires. 

Behold upon the May Flower's deck a band 

Born to create an empire and command ; 

Fear could not daunt them — when the voice within 

To duty called — to perish was to win. 

Loyal to God and conscience, how sublime 

The needed lesson for all coming time ! 

On Plymouth Rock the tower of Freedom stands, 

Our refuge, and the hope of other lands. 

From raging billows and the tempest's roar 

The pilgrim fathers find a cheerless shore. 

The wings of faith upbore them in that hour, 

When deep affliction tried their spirits' power. 

The church and school-house, reared amid the woods, 

Sparkled like gems in Nature's solitudes ; 



5o COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Here lay thy strength, intrepid men, to bear 
All dangers, and through toil, and blood prepare 
A home for Freedom's sons, who, from afar 
Cheered by the promise of the western star, 
Leave^home, and kindred, and their fathers' graves, 
Shaking Oppression's dust in ocean's waves ; 
And when at length the voice of Henry fired 
A people's pulsing heart, that tongue inspired 
Was but a living echo of thine own, 
Rousing the nation, while it shook a throne. 

The day draws nigh, and Freedom's signal gun 

Makes classic ground the soil of Lexington ; 

And Bunker's height, and Yorktown's plains reveal 

The sparks that tyrants struck from patriots' steel. 

Unequaled heroes ! all thy names are set, 

To shine as jewels in Fame's coronet. 

Great Franklin ! earth records thee, patriot, sage ; 

And lightning, scribe imperial, signs the page. 

But who shall sing of peerless Washington, 

Freedom's most honored, purest, noblest son ? 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 51 



On Truth's bright pinions let the muse ascend 

Some moral Chimborazo ere she lend 

Her rapt'rous strain to swell the matchless fame 

That glows around that great, majestic name ; 

For Freedom gives her spotless chief a throne 

Among her hierarchs, where he reigns alone. 

America from England's yoke is free ; 

O prophet muse ! what shall her future be ? 

Behold a cloud appears, whose threat'ning form 
With muttering thunders speak the coming storm ; 
The simoon blast sweeps o'er our hills and plains, 
Sending its poison through the nation's veins ; 
Justice ! before thee, slavery's victims stand 
Swift witnesses against our guilty land. 
Patriots! sad sight the historic page to see 
Red with the record of iniquity. 
But Freedom boasts the slave's great champion ; — 
Let Massachusetts guard her Garrison! 
For few like him adorn her annals now. 
Proud Nature on his calm and dauntless brow 



52 COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 



Has set her royal signet ; and his name 
With Luther's shall endure — a pillar'd flame 
To light the track of ages, till the world 
Shall see Wrong's tottering throne to ruin hurled. 

Hark ! from the plains of Kansas mournful comes 
The solemn roll of Freedom's muffled drums — 
Upon her sacred soil to plant the tree 
Whose deadly fruit shall poison Liberty — 
See, foes of her own household now conspire 
With armed invaders, burning with desire 
To blast with slavery's curse this paradise — 
Sons of the pilgrims, Freedom calls, arise! 

O thou my country ! hast thy patriots' blood 
Been shed in vain ? Shall slavery's surging flood 
Roll o'er our western Eden, merging deep 
The hopes our father's cherished ? Shall it sweep 
O'er Freedom's altars, till beneath the waves 
Slaves with oppressors, find dishonored graves? 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 53 



Forth from old Plymouth Rock the murmurs go, 
And back snow-crowned Nevadas thunder, No! 
Strong arms shall guard thee, Freedom ! and around 
Thy holy land, temples, and battle-ground, 
Build bulwarks, such as freemen only can — 
Free speech and Press, to shield the rights of man. 

A thou, O noble band of pioneers, 

Who left thy firesides, and affection's tears, 

Thy cause more just than when the Hermit made 

A camp of Europe's vineyards ; rhy crusade 

No ignorance inspired, nor monarchs crown 

Thy deeds chivalrous, when are cloven down 

Those rights as sacred to all hearts that feel, 

As e'er invoked the aid of glist'ning steel! 

Brave band of martyrs! far along the line 

Of coming ages shall thy virtues shine ; 

Enrolled in Fame's proud temple, thou shalt stand 

Among the noble few of every land, 

Who, rushing at beleaguered Freedom's call, 

Upheld her ensign, or avenged its fall. 



54 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



But on our soil she fears not open foes; 
Her deadliest enemies, and curse, are those 
Who plead in the great name of Liberty — 
Of equal rights — the people's sovereignty. 

Young men ! to you imperiled Freedom speaks ! 
Youth's generous, uncorrupted heart she seeks! 
Earth's richest heritage is yours to guard, 
And acting nobly, ye shall see unbarred 
Oppression's gate — and from her crumbling wall 
Hear Freedom's watchmen to the nations call. 



Spring 



Spring comes again and waves her spotless banners, 
The spoils she won from Winter's mighty king; 

All Nature joins to swell the loud hosannas, 
And hails the triumph of the gentle Spring. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 55 



Thou art the child of Hope, and for thy coming 
The pale young girl in faith has waited long; 

And when she heard the birds' melodious humming, 
Glad as the birds, she joined their choral song. 



'Neath humble roofs, where Want, his throne uprearing, 
Ruled like a tyrant till thy heralds came, 

The poor rejoiced, as when the Master hearing, 
The sick arose, and blessed the Saviour's name. 



Benignant power ! thine outstretched wing of healing 
Cures not alone the ills the body knows ; 

The wounded heart, beneath its burden reeling, 
Feels thy soft hand uplift its weight of woes. 



For thou art emblem of the clime eternal, 
Where earth's sad children shall forget their grief; 

Where deathless flowers shall bloom forever vernal, 
Where is no blasted fruit, nor withered leaf. 



56 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Then spread thy halm on every zephyr's pinion, 
With all the music of the warbling choir; 

Vast is the empire where thou hold'st dominion, 
And millions wait the breathings of thy lyre. 

a jfuneral &i)migj)t. 

By BAYARD TAYLOR. 



When the pale genius, to whose hollow tramp 

Echoes the startled chambers of the soul, 
Waves his inverted torch o'er that wan camp 

Where the archangels' marshaling trumpets roll, 
I would not meet him in the chamber dim, 

Hushed and o'erburthened with a nameless fear, 
When the breath flutters, and the senses swim, 

And the dread hour is near! 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 57 



Though love's dear arms might clasp me fondly then, 

As if to keep the summoner at bay, 
And woman's woe, and the calm grief of men 

Hallow at last, the still, unbreathing clay — 
These are earth's fetters, and the soul would shrink 

Thus bound, from darkness and the dread unknown, 
Stretching its arms from earth's eternal brink, 

Which it must dare alone! 



But in the awful silence of the sky, 

Upon some mountain summit, never trod, 
Through the bright ether would 1 climb to die 

Afar from mortals, and alone with God ! 
To the pure keeping of the stainless air 

Would I resign my feeble, failing breath, 
And with the rapture of an answered prayer 

Welcome the kiss of death ! 



The soul which wrestled with that doom of pain, 
Prometheus-like, its lingering portion here, 



5 8 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Would there forget the vulture and the chain, 
And leap to freedom from its mountain-bier! 

All that it ever knew of noble thought, 
Would guide it upward on the glorious track, 

Nor the keen pangs by parting anguish wrought, 
Turn its bright glances back! 



Then to the elements my fame would turn, 

No worms should riot on my coffined clay, 
But the cold limbs, from that sepulchral urn, 

In the slow storms of ages waste away ! 
Loud winds, and thunder's diapason high, 

Should be my requiem through the coming time, 
And the white summit, fading in the sky, 

My monument sublime. 

(The reader would pardon the insertion of this fine poem of Mr. Taylor's, ( 
were it not needed to make the following more intelligible.) 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 59 



Ernes Suggests tin Ifteatitng 
" a jFuneral ftf)mig1)t." 



When life's flame flutters, and unwelcome death 
Whispers his summons in my burdened ear ; 

When the heart's chamber feels his icy breath — 
To light the darkness of that hour so drear, 
May friends be round me, and be kindred near ; 

I would not meet the terror-king alone, 
For erring mortal is the child of fear. 

Not all the orbs which gem night's sparkling zone, 
Can break the mantling gloom that shrouds the 
" dread unknown." 



Though round my " couch magnificent " should sweep 
The rapturous music of the rolling spheres, 

Filling with harmony creation's deep, 
Sublimely beating the long march of years ! 
Would it have power to quell my rising fears, 



60 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



When, hastening onward with his muffled tread, 
The ancient monarch of the tomb appears ? 

Sweeter than Nature's anthems round my bed, 

Affection's angel voice when breaks life's golden 
thread. 

I would not seek God's cloudy temple tower, 
For 1 should be no nearer to His throne ; 

Tis at the altar He displays His power; 
Between the cherubim His mercy shone, 
Then would my spirit all its pride disown, 

And in some vale where flowers their fragrance shed, 

There would 1 die, if I must die alone. 
"Ashes to ashes" — earth may claim the dead, 
And on her gentle bosom would I lay my head. 

Man cannot die alone ; " spirits unseen 
Both when we sleep, and when we wake," 

Walk the pure ether and with voice serene 
Hold converse with the soul that fain would take 
Its rapid upward flight, longing to break 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 61 



Earth's heavy fetters and the bands of time. 

Great Source of help ! oh, give me strength to make 
Of faith and love my " monument sublime," 

Tow'ring above life's storms to heaven's unchanging- 
clime ! 



Cf)e paggtountis of JHj) €i)Utii)00tr Hags. 



The playgrounds of my childhood days, — 
Where are ye ? stately mansions, speak 

For where ye stand my fancy strays — 
The scenes of early years I seek. 



The brook upon whose brink I played, 
And sailed with pride my tiny boat ; 

The tree beneath whose grateful shade, 
I listened to the wild-bird's note, — 



62 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Have passed away — and gardens bloom 
Where " God's first temples" reared their spires; 

And cultured flowers now yield perfume 
Where Nature lit her incense fires. 



Though fled, ye many scenes of youth, 
Your image is before me still ; 

At memory's magic wand of truth 
Ye rise — and forest, field and rill 



Once more their virgin beauty wear — 
Once more the violet's sweets are spread 

On wings of summer's softest air, 
A censer's breath, where'er I tread. 



Fond scenes, amid whose bowers we dreamed, 
Sweet earnest of a joy complete; 

When grief like noon's short shadows seemed 
To seek a grave beneath our feet. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 63 



<©n tije 30catlj of aionfo Hetote. 

(January, 1861.) 



Bard and historian of thy native town, 
Among whose hills and on whose sounding shore 

Thou oft hast wandered, giving them renown, 
The message comes — the poet is no more. 



Yet living still in thy melodious song 
Whose classic beauty won the critic's praise; 

What varied pictures on the mem'ry throng! 
How glows the fancy kindled by thy lays. 



Thy pen of genius spread from land to land 
The thrilling legends of a vanished race ; 

Made known each haunted hill and dale, where stands 
The mound above the red man's burial place. 



64 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Before thy potent wand the past unrolled 
The crimson curtain of the Indian's life ; 

We hear the war-whoop sounding through the wold, 
And watch the onset of the savage strife. 

But softer scenes upon our vision rise 
Beside the moon-lit lake, 'neath bending boughs, 

Where youth and beauty speak with lover's eyes ; 
And the Great Spirit hears their simple vows. 



Rest from thy many labors, rest in peace, 
Lynn shall not soon forget her gifted son; 

Thy works shall follow, though thy toilings cease 
Green are the laurels that thy life has won. 



The voice of Censure finds no utt'rance now ; 

Before the gates of Immortality 
She sits with silent tongue and reverent brow,- 

An angel speaks, whose name is Charity; 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 65 



Guide and Instructor of my early youth, 
This heart-felt tribute I may not refuse ; 

But wreathe a garland from the fields of truth, 
The grateful off'ring of my humble muse. 



(Read before a Literary Circle.) 



The skies that bend o'er childhood's path 
Are radiant with the light of joy; 

No storms of passion sweep in wrath, 
No cares its happiness alloy. 



To youth, grief comes a transient guest; 

Lightly as sails the ocean bird 
The crystal wave, its sorrows rest, 

But leave the heart's great deep unstirred. 



66 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



At memory of its days of peace, 
On fancy's wings we fly once more 

To revel in its bowers of ease, 
And walk upon its stormless shore. 

Once more we see life's treacherous deep 
Now meek, by gentle winds caressed ; 

We see hope's distant meteors sweep, 
That light the " Islands of the Blest." 

What visions dance before our eyes! 

What glory gilds the coming time! 
Mightier than all beneath the skies 

Is childhood's faith — its hope, sublime. 



That faith, life's mysteries yet shall know 
That heaven -born hope shall never die ; 

Where earth's rude tempests never blow, 
The " Islands of the Blest " still lie. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 67 



And when this doom of pain is o'er, 
Across the sea shall mortals sail, 

To find that dream-invested shore, 
Where only sordid hopes shall fail. 

lL\\\t% Suggested t s tije JBmW) of M> H%< &. 



'Twas sunset, in the Autumn time, 
When forests blushed in robes of gold, 

A gentle spirit heard the chime 
That called it to its Father's fold. 



In life's inspiring morn she stood ; 

Unfolding buds of joy lay spread 
On every hand — hill, vale and wood, 

Sung of the living, not the dead. 



68 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



But changed the scene ; with muffled tread 
Death's herald comes ; hope's meteor beams 

That on time's distant mountains shed 
Their luring light, have fled like dreams. 

Fond hearts must yield their treasured trust ; 

And broken circles bear the blow 
That lays in consecrated dust 

A cherished one, 't was joy to know. 



As child, as sister, and as friend, 
Around each name love wound its spell; 

Her presence made our spirits blend, 
Her absence makes — what none can tell. 



There is no need of laurel wreaths 
To crown a guileless life like hers; 

A shrine of mem'ries dear she leaves, 
And there, all hearts are worshippers. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 69 



With undimmed faith she saw the time 
When all earth's families shall meet. 

O'er slow decay this trust sublime 
Triumphed, and made her life complete. 

With more than mother's deathless love 
Shall angel arms he round her flung ; 

And music fill the home above 
Sweeter than sister voices sung. 



God of the darkness, and the light ! 

When hearts beat faint, and lips grow pale, 
Reveal to our weak, waning sight 

The land that lies within the veil; 



The mansion 'neath whose spacious dome 
Earth's weary caravan shall rest ; 

From whose endearments none shall roam, 
For none can find a spot more blest. 



70 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



(Sung at the Installation of Rev. Elbridgk G. Brooks, 1850.) 



Eternal Power, to whom alone 
The homage of the soul is due ! 

We bend before Thy gracious throne, — 
Our off'rings bring — our vows renew. 



With strength divine Thy servant arm, 
Whose guiding hand we now invite ; 

If friends betray, or foes alarm, 
Be Thou his refuge and his might. 



Like his great Master, may he speak 
The words of Love, whose healing power 

Shall bless the poor, uplift the weak 
And crown with hope each mortal hour. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 71 



A messenger of Sacred Truth, 
The erring soul may he restore ; 

And teach the tender mind of youth 
Thy Law to love,— Thy Grace adore. 

The Gospel's joy may he impart 
To mourning souls with grief oppressed 

Its balm shall soothe the wounded heart, 
And give the weary heavenly rest. 



The flock committed to his care, 
With guardian eye may he defend ; 

His hopes and labors may they share; 
Their joys and sorrows kindly blend. 



O Thou, to whose exalted Son 

A ransomed world shall bend the knee, 
Hasten the triumph — scarce begun — 

Of Peace and Christian Unitv. 



72 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



(Sung at the Installation of Rev. Sumner Ellis, 1S60.) 



Benignant Power! whose watchful care 
Upholds the millions of our race, 

To Thee we bend in humble prayer, 
Here in the temple of Thy grace. 



Thy spirit on Thy servant send 
Who shall before Thy people stand, 

And in the coming time shall tend 
This vineyard planted by Thy hand. 



Love's armor of celestial power 
O grant him for the work divine, 

To shield him in life's battle hour 

And guard him when his foes combine, 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 73 



Like Him who sought the poor and weak, 
And wept o'er every scene of woe, 

So may Thy servant ever speak 

The words that shall with mercy flow. 



Help us to spread along- his way 

The deeds that spring from Christian hearts ; 
And shed around his darkest day 

The light that sympathy imparts. 

Parent Divine, whose grace at last 
All tongues and nations shall adore, 

We know the love that crowns the past 
Shall guard Thy children evermore. 



74 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



(Sung at the Installation of Rev. Charles W. Biddle, 1863.) 



Father, where'er Thy children bend 
In humble homes or temples grand, 

Thy conscious presence Thou dost lend, 
And there is felt Thy guiding hand. 



To Thy young servant speak to-day ; 

Thy spirit's life and power bestow, 
That he may lead Thy people's way 

Where Truth's immortal fountains flow. 



His Master's spirit may he bear, 
Touched with the plaint of human woe, 

Bidding the child of pain and care 
A Father's endless mercy*know. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 75 



May we with sympathizing hearts 
His joys and griefs and labors share ; 

And may each year that swift departs, 
The union of our souls declare. 



Thy blessing on Thy Church descend, 
And crown its mission from above 

With triumphs that shall never end — 
Emblem of Thine eternal love. 



O, Thou ! whose throne shall ever stand 
Upheld by Justice, Truth and Right, 

Hasten the day when every land 
Shall live beneath Thy gospel's light. 



76 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



(Sung at the Re-Dedication of the First Universalist Church, Union Street, 



Eternal Power, whose fiat raised 

Earth's frame with countless glories hung. 
Whose name creation's hosts have praised 

Since morning stars together sung, 



This temple, which our fathers reared, 
That Truth might find an altar free, — 

This shrine to them and us endeared, — 
We consecrate anew to Thee. 



Let heart, and voice, and organ-peal, 
Rising sublime to heaven's high dome, 

Proclaim the joy Thy children feel 
To greet once more their Sabbath home. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 77 



May Art here symbol forth the power 
That set the pillars of God's throne; 

That robed in beauty tree and flower, 
And heavens in splendors all their own. 

Long may these walls an emblem stand 
Of Thy unchanging love to man; 

Where Faith shall see a Father's hand 
Unfolding His eternal plan. 



Here may the voice of strife be hushed; 

A rest to weary souls be given ; 
And mourning hearts, by sorrow crushed, 

Feel the consoling power of heaven. 



Thou, whose Omniscient eye surveys 
The devious paths Thy children tread, 

Guide us through life's uncertain days, 
Our help, when mortal hope has fled. 



7 8 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



<©n tijc Beatf) of OTol. ISltetoortf). 

(1861.) 



Brave leader of the brave! thy fame 
Shall live with Freedom's latest breath ; 

For linked forever with thy name, 
The flag that wrapped thy form in death. 

And patriots through all coming time, 
Where'er the stars and stripes may wave, 

Shall hear thy funeral dirge sublime, 
A requiem o'er thy honored grave. 



Lamented martyr ! to the urn 
That holds thy consecrated clay, 

Freedom shall lead her sons, to learn 
The price her votaries must pay. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 79 



For grim Oppression ever stands 
With sleepless eyes and heart of Cain; 

And Liberty must guide her bands 
Through weary years of toil and pain. 



" What is the price of Liberty ? " 
" Eternal vigilance ! " and they 
That guard the altars of the free 
Must sleep not, night nor day! 



God of the Nations ! in this hour 
Of darkness hold us in Thy hand ; 

Sustained by Thine Almighty power, 
No evil blights our native land. 



8o COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Co tijc jWemovs of IE. a. &. 



Angel of Patience! with us dwell, 
Now thy young sister, Hope, has fled, 

For woes no mortal tongue can tell 
Throng round the mem'ry of the dead. 



We grope in darkness now ; the light 
Of that loved presence has gone out ; 

Thou must be with us through this night, 
Or we shall faint with fear and doubt. 



So like a dream ! and can it be 
That we shall meet on earth no more? 

The gulf of death's dread mystery 
Is deeper than we thought before. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 81 



How mirrored in that calm, sweet face, 
Once seen, forgotten nevermore, 

Shone forth that gentleness and grace, 
The jewels that her spirit wore. 



Patient, beneath Affliction's rod, 
And laying, like a little child, 

Her hand within the hand of God, 
She to His will was reconciled. 



How glows the beauty of that life 
Upon our chastened spirits' gaze! 

What power to quell the storms of strife, 
And light the gloom of darkened days! 



How cluster round the parents' heart 
The mem'ry of that absent one! 

What shadows, never to depart, 
Deepened as sank her life's brief sun ! 



82 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



How that lone sister's heart will moan 
For her whose voice, from childhood's hour 

Mingling- its accents with her own, 
Still echoes love's undying power. 



God of the tempest, and the calm ! 

Of darkness, and of healing light ! 
To bleeding hearts O send a balm ! 

To grief -closed eyes, immortal sight, 

That looks beyond the vale of sense, 
And sees the lost of earth so near, 

We feel a hallowed recompense, — 
The blessing, born of sorrow's tear. 



Then stay, until the darkness flee, 
Angel that points our eyes above ! 

Teaching how mourners' tears may be 
The mirror of a Father's love. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 83 



&iK proclamation of Emancipation. 

(1863.) 



Hark ! to the nation's listening" ear, 
A blast from Freedom's bugle comes ; 

No more her war-scarred heroes hear 
The mourning of her muffled drums. 



Its sweet, clear melody is heard 
Above the cannon's thundering" roar ; 

Armed legions catch the electric word 
The lightning" bears from shore to shore. 



Like war-horse when the trumpet sounds, 
The nation's pulsing heart is thrilled ; 

Light gleams o'er sacred battle-grounds, — 
Man humbly works what God has willed. 



84 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Fly! o'er Atlantic's waters, fly, — 
Once crossed by Freedom's weary dove,- 

And flash in Europe's threat'ning eye 
The truth that turns her wrath to love. 



Edict of Liberty ! thy power 

Sunders Oppression's iron rod ; 
While the chained bondman marks the hour 

When Justice wields the sword of God. 



Though heralded 'mid fire and smoke, 
And flashing- of War's deadly steel, 

We bow beneath the chast'ning stroke 
That smites the nation but to heal. 



No chance marks out the lightning's path, 
Nor blindly come earth's crucial pains, 

And puny man's unhallowed wrath 
A Father's hand of love restrains. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 85 



O doubting ones, God rules to-day, 
His throne unmoved 'mid wildest storm 

And, as the darkness melts away, 
Mercy reveals her radiant form. 



^i>mn. 



(Sung at the Obsequies of President Lincoln, 
at First Universalist Church, 1865.) 



God of the nations ! in this hour, 
When joy exultant turns to dust, 

Thou art the same benignant power 
In whom our fathers put their trust ! 



Turn Thou our darkness into light ! 

To hope our agonizing fear; 
Uplift the pall that hides from sight 

The hand of Mercv. ever near. 



86 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Our country mourns her fallen chief, 
Who led his people through the sea ; 

The ransomed bondman bends in grief, 
And hushed his song of jubilee. 



As Israel's guide from Pisgah's top 
Beheld the land he might not tread, - 

Our Moses saw the fetters drop 

Ere he was numbered with the dead. 



O, may his sacred mantle fall 

On him who guides the ship of state ; 
And as the prophet heard Thy call 

May he for Thy commandment wait. 



Praise and Thanksgiving, Lord, to Thee ! 

The tempest lulls — the sun appears! 
The bow of Peace and Liberty 

Shines through the nation's falling tears. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 87 



^gmn. 



(Sung at the laying of the corner-stone of the First Universalist Church, 
May 27, 1872.) 



Great Builder of the earth and skies, 
Whose temple lifts her spacious dome ; 

Where'er the solemn mountains rise, 
Or ocean's billows wildly foam. 

We meet, this corner-stone to lay, 
In honor of the Truth, whose power 

Turns error's night to glorious day, 

And speeds the world's redemption hour. 



While ages roll, this rock shall be 
An emblem of thy changeless love ; 

Steadfast when tempests toss the sea, 
Or thunders shake the heavens above. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Chief Corner Stone, whose matchless name 
Is known and sung in every clime : 

Here may our humble work proclaim, 
Thy glory in the coming time. 



Oft as Thy children gather here 
Around this consecrated spot, 

Be banished every servile fear, 
And earthly vanities forgot. 



Speed Thou the coming of the day, 
When love to God and love to man 

Shall sweep all other creeds away 
That limit Thy eternal plan. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 89 



fesmn. 



(Sung at the Dedication of the Ingalls School-House, 
August 31, 1872.) 



Framer of all the worlds of space, 
Maker of all the beauty seen 

Outspread o'er Nature's lovely face, 
On mountain top, or valley green,- 



We meet to dedicate to-day 

This temple reared in Learning's cause, 
Where youthful minds shall learn the way 

Of Wisdom and her sacred laws. 



Our native land, each day more dear, 
As church and school -house crown thy hills ; 

The tree of Knowledge blossoms here, 
And here its healing balm distills. 



90 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



O Pilgrim band, whose feet once trod 
Our own New England's barren soil, 

The seed ye sowed with trust in God 
This day rewards your faith and toil. 



Great Source of Truth, dispel the night 
Of Ignorance from every land ! 

When Science with her wand of light 
Shall walk with Virtue, hand in hand. 



Proud triumph of the coming years! 

For thee we labor still and wait ; 
When Hope shall reign o'er slavish fears, 

And Love sit crowned in robes of state. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 91 



Jftemorial ©tie. 

(For Decoration Day, 1875.) 



Memorial Day ! thy mem'ries still 
Are living in ten thousand hearts ; 

Still shine from blood-stained vale and hill 
A glory that no more departs. 



Brave Patriot Dead! who sleep to-day 
Where gentle hands shall deck the sod, 

Still speak above your honored clay, 
Your deeds wherever man has trod. 



Brave Patriot Band ! who living, bear 
The scars from many a field of strife, 

Not vain the crown of wounds ye wear, 
Who saved the nation's periled life. 



92 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Living or dead, ye noble band, 
The nation in your presence bends ; 

Sons of immortal sires ye stand, 
And late with earlier glory blends. 



Hushed muffled drums, if henceforth shine 
With brighter beams old Freedom's sun; 

If taught by sacrifice divine, 
Hearts long estranged shall beat as one. 



Then fly, thou white-winged angel, fly ! 

From sea to sea, from shore to shore ; 
Fulfill the ancient prophet's cry, — 

The nations shall learn war no more. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 93 



& pastor's fflBelcome ?$ome. 

(Rev. C. W. Biddle, 1878.) 



The noiseless wheels of time roll on ; 

The hour of parting comes ; 
And farewells to the dear ones gone 

Sound sad as muffled drums. 



Then to the waiting heart is shown, 
How vast our treasures rise ; 

And absence to our sight makes known 
The wealth that round us lies. 



Pastor and friend! the welcome sung, 

By blended voices here, 
Finds deeper echoes than the tongue 

Leaves on the listening ear. 



94 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Here to the scene of labor done 
Through youth and manhood's prime, 

We welcome thee where thou hast won 
The choicest good of time. 



For thou, in bright or darkened hours, 

Our joys and sorrows knew ; 
Stood when the altar, crowned with flowers, 

Shone with baptismal dew. 



When sweetly rose the marriage hymn, 
Thou hast been near our side ; 

And when in death the eye grew dim, 
Consoler thou, and guide. 



Dearest of earthly treasures this, — 
The tie that binds all hearts; 

That finds in others' good its bliss; 
That lives, when life departs, 



COMMEMORATIVE POEMS. 95 



(Sung- at the 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of Lynn, 1879.) 



Backward is rolling the curtain of Time ! 

Lo, the dear spot where our forefathers trod ! 
Ocean's grand anthem is pealing sublime, 

Grander the anthem of pilgrim to God ! 
Heritage dearer than tongue ever tells, 

Cherished by thousands for childhood's sweet hours, 
How the heart leaps at the sound of thy bells ! 

Stillness, how grateful we find in thy bower 

Sitting in beauty, thy feet in the sea, 

Mantled in billows, the hills for thy crown, 

City of Lynn, may thy chief glory be 
The fame of thy sons, and thy daughters' renown. 

Manhood and Virtue shall then sit enthroned, — 
Jewels more rare than encircle thy shore ; 



96 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Bride of the ocean, with rubies enzoned, 
Honor and Worth shall exalt thee still more. 

Ruler of Nations! still guard our fair home, 

Shining with splendors of forest and sea ; 
Dearest spot known, though the wide world we roam, 

Dearest of all this fair land of the free ; 
Prosper the works of our hands and our hearts, 

Loyal to Truth and to Right may we be ; 
Building up higher than traffic's proud marts 

Temples of Worship and Learning to Thee. 



Hines. 



(Read at a Concert of the First Universalist Sunday School, 1S78, 
Swampscott Branch.) 



Dear friends, with warmest hearts we greet 
Your presence in this hallowed place ; 

No offering can we bring more meet 
Than childhood's innocence and grace. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 97 



The circling- year has come and gone; 

Spring gave her banners to the breeze, 
And Summer's radiant glory shone, 

And Autumn sighed through leafless trees. 



And still unbroken was our band 
As week by week we gathered here; 

But soon was seen a beckoning hand, 
And Death, Sleep's younger sister, near. 



And then she passed the shadowy line — 
We gazed till longing eyes grew dim — 

And entering mansions more divine, 
Was one with saints and cherubim. 



We sadly speak of now, and then; 

And trembling think of here, and there; 
Till taught faith's alphabet — Amen — 

We, doubtful, trust a Father's care. 



98 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



The kindling eye we may not see, 
Through the dark medium of sense; 

Nor hear again the melody, 
Whose loss earth cannot recompense. 



Yet nearer to the land unseen, 

She points a pathway for our feet ; 

Till fade th' imagined bounds between, 
And life's great circle seems complete. 



But from this retrospective gaze 
We turn to greet the present hour; 

To hear the music of the lays 
That warble forth from childhood's bower. 



Here, while the stars of heaven look down, 
And ocean sings her solemn psalm, 

While yonder hills wear summer's crown, 
And woods distill their healing balm, — 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 99 



May Nature's voices speak thy word, 
O Conscience ! daughter of the soul ; 

And be her faintest whisper heard, 
When stormy waves of passion roll. 



Here may we learn the lessons old, 
Taught by the Master, when He stood 

By lake and mountain side, and told 
The wondrous power of doing good. 



We come to learn that life sublime, 
Whose blessed alchemy of love 

Transmutes the hates of ancient time, 
And lifts the groveling soul above. 



How grand the psalm the ages sing! 

How glows the canvas with His fame ! 
How sweet the poet's anthems ring ! 

How marble speaks His matchless name ! 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



How has His light illumed mankind ! 

His spotless life taught men to live! 
Upborne by faith, what millions find 

The peace earth cannot take nor give ! 



Where reason fails there faith makes known 
The wisdom science cannot teach ; 

And to the pure in heart is shown 
A realm no telescope can reach. 



No mystery of mysteries 

Disturbs the balance of His rod ; 
No doubts nor unknown quantities 

Perplex the algebra of God. 



But bounded only by the sweep 

Of His immeasurable span, 
Worlds known and unknown ever keep 

The order of His changeless plan. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Parents and teachers, guard the trust 
Committed to your watchful care ; 

Ye mould not perishable dust, 
Ye grave immortal tablets there. 



Then welcome to our Sabbath home ! 

Parents and friends your work behold ! 
These stars shall shine when Heaven's high dome 

Shall into ancient night be rolled. 

Thou who dost hear the feeblest cry 

Earth's weakest creature breathes to Thee; 

Still be Thy guardian presence nigh, 
Whose whispers hush life's stormy sea. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Bctricatotg l^gmn. 

(First Universalist Church Nahant Street, 1873.) 



Thou whose omnific fiat reared 
Creation's temple, vast and grand ; 

Whom prophets, priests, and kings revered, 
And altars built at Thy command, — 



Thy children meet beneath this dome 
To consecrate these courts to Thee ; 

Within these walls, our Sabbath home, 
Dwell peace and Christian unity. 



The memory of the cherished dead 
Chastens this hour they longed to see; 

Who toiled when fainter hearts had fled, 
And won for us the victory. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 103 



Here in this temple, Lord of light, 
Be taught how boundless is Thy love; 

The erring find the way of right, 
The mourner healing from above. 



Here may Thy gospel's truth fulfill 
Its mission to the needy soul ; 

Till every form of human ill 
Shall yield to its Divine control. 



So, Lord, the coming time shall reap 
The harvest of the ages past ; 

Till in Thy cycles' onward sweep 
All souls shall own Thy sway at last. 



io4 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Seating fcg Jfloonligf)t. 11 



Come, mingle in the enchanting scene, 
Young men and maidens! Winter calls: 

See how he throws his silvery sheen 
Round icy palaces and halls! 



His carpet spread upon the lake, 
More wondrous is than legends tell, 

When Arabs kept their guests awake, 
And bound them with the storied spell. 

With steel-clad feet the skater springs ; 

Swift as a bird his wheeling flight ; 
Hark ! how the polished metal rings 

And flashes in the moonbeams bright! 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 105 



Nature's designer all untaught! 

See with what nice artistic skill 
The sharp cut lines and curves are wrought ! 

How his steel pencil works his will! 



Tween upper and the lower deep, 
His course is grander than the way 

Napoleon's Alpine armies keep, 
O'er heights where avalanches play. 



One starry vault above his head, 
Another 'neath his glistening feet, 

He seems ethereal paths to tread, 
Borne on a shining crystal sheet! 

The children shout with wild delight 
To see the old folks share their play; 

Their young eyes never saw such sight 
As crowns each winter holiday. 



io6 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



The school-boy hastes with joy from school, 
Soon as the teacher's reign is o'er ; 

On skates he owns no monarch's rule; 
Here skill is mightier far than lore. 

The maiden comes with steps of grace 
To lend her beauty to the hour, 

And north winds paint upon her face 
A rose outblushing Sharon's flower. 



For health is in the pure, cold air 

That sweeps o'er Nature's snow-capped hills, 
And life's elixir gushes where 

The Frost-King's wand transmutes the rills 



To jewels of a purer ray, 
Than peerless Cleopatra wore, 

When her imperial barges lay 
In stately pride near Tarsus' shore. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 107 



Heedless the fair of many a fall, 
Caused by the swift, impatient steeds, 

That start before the driver's call, 
Remorseless of ungallant deeds. 



What Muse will lend her laureled name 

An offering to the regal art, 
More noble than Olympian game, 

In which crowned monarchs bore a part. 



No Hebrew poet sung thy praise; 

No Grecian bard around thee flung 
The halo of immortal lays — 

No incense of the pen or tongue. 



From Shakespeare's matchless muse no note 
Embalms the skater's art sublime ; 

From Milton's bird of song there float 
No warblings through the arch of time. 



io8 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



But far in frosty Northern lands, 
Rich in wild legendary lore, 

In ruder times the minstrel bands 
Sung of the laurels Uller wore. 



This monarch ruled the realm of ice: 
A mighty god, with ponderous skates, 

Who beats the whirlwind in a trice, 
And for the lagging tempest waits. 

Ye bards ! that sing with rapturous strains 
Of peaceful sea and placid lake, 

When these are changed to silvery plains, 
Where youth and beauty may partake 



Of life's sweet banquet hour of bliss, — 
Why silent all the tuneful Nine ? 

Why mute the nine-fold harmonies 
Ye pour round every other shrine ? 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 109 



Come gather on the gleaming lake; 

An hour forget life's toil and care ; 
Youth's early joys once more will wake; 

For health and beauty meet us there. 



¥oem. 



(Read at the Reunion of the Young Men's Debating Society, 
1881.— A Retrospect.) 



Some thirty years ago, or near that time, 

A few young men who had not reached their prime, 

Met in the vestry — Silsbee street, you know — 

To set the world ahead, or strike a blow 

'T would bring it right side up. This little job 

Just set on foot by Buffum, Boyce and Cobb, — 12 

And many others of the far-famed club 

That dimmed the Attic glory of the " Hub," — 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



They thought to finish up; and so bring in 

The grand millenium and the end of sin ; 

The air was murky with the smoke of battle 

And slaves were bought and sold and whipped like 

cattle, 
Under the very shade of Freedom's dome, 
Where lived the Goddess — when she was at home. 

So the young champions took up the cry, 
Resolved to conquer or to bravely die. 
What glimpse they got of glory or of fame ? 
Say ! who can tell as each put down his name ? 
Holden and Attwill, known as Theodore, 
" Two Johnsons " (one Professor), Henry Moore, 
Oliver and Shorey, Tufts, well-known as Gardiner, 
— And better known round here than Dr. Lardner, — 
Holcomb and Crosman, Stevenson and Wood, 
Crosman, George A. — Taber, and George A. Hood, 
Barry and Bancroft, Brown, A. C. Goodell, 
Sweetser and Chase, Allen and Clark and Bell, 
Jameson and Hawkes, Parsons and Steele and Hunt, 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



(We had no member by the name of Lunt), 

McCutcheon, Pierce, and E. A. Ingalls, 

(This would rhyme well with Dingles, Cringles, Shingles), 

Attwills — three more of them the records show — 

Jesse (called Jesse L.) William and Aaron O. 

And still I must not fail to mention one, 

Son of the slaves' great champion, 

An honored name — William Lloyd Garrison — 13 

Sweetser, John A. — and Frothingham and Noyes, 

Make up the band that spoke with pen or voice. 

Our roll of honor, Alley, Walden, Mudge, 
Shackford and Davis — these we must not grudge 
A place to stand upon the scroll of fame 
As each to-day shall answer to his name. 

What have these thirty years of labor wrought ? 
What price been paid for wealth or honors sought ? 
How many stumbled at the door of fame, 
Saw but in dreams the tablet with their name? 



COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 



How many learned the sacrifice to make 

And to the shrine of self-denial take 

(That shrine which sanctifies giver and offerings), 

What the heart sets above all earthly things ? 

Some have gained wealth, some honors — here a name 

Linked with the cause of Freedom, when the shame 

And guilt of slavery brooded o'er the land — 

And there the soldier's friend, whose helping hand 14 

In time of danger brought to hearts relief 

From dread suspense, or turned to joy their grief, 

Sent to the mother tidings of her son — 

When the fight ended and the strife was done. 

And one, by science led, climbed the steep height 

Where Kepler sat ; and in the starry night 

Enraptured, heard the " music of the spheres " — 

The anthem, sounding through eternal years. 

One with rare humor, filled with old-time lore, 

We miss and mourn — departed Theodore; 15 

He was a chief among us; and each page 

Of our past annals shows his counsels sage. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 113 



Some in youth's morning heard their country call, 
And on her altar yielded up their all ; 
Saw the bright visions of their early years 
Expire and leave a heritage of tears. 
Some have been crushed with grief, and bear a load 
Of speechless sorrow down life's evening road; 
And some have done their work ; and others still 
Are panting upward to the enchanted hill ; 
My Muse ! tread not upon prophetic ground, 
But gather sheaves in life's experience found. 

What is success ? those who can answer — tell 

Who 've done the best, and who not quite so well. 

Strike the true balance, tell just where it lies. 

Say — who have missed, and who have won the prize. 

Tell whither all the curves of being tend 

And where the lines of good and evil blend. 

These by -gone years! what wonders have been wrought ! 
Since steam was harnessed and the lightning caught. 
New lands explored, new fields of golden grain 



ii4 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Waving in sunlight, crowning hill and plain. 
New arts extended, wealth unknown before, 
And comforts, spread before the cottage door, 
And books, the poor man's college, multiply 
And homes are seen, where hovels met the eye. 

These thirty years ! what else hast thou to tell ? 

The work that thou hast done — so much — so well? 

What wrongs been righted ? what oppressions crushed ? 

What woes been healed ? what cries of sorrow hushed ? 

What is thy record 'mong the fleeting years 

Since earth's first-born were doomed to death and tears ? 

Last born of time ! whate'er thy record be 

In other lands and climes, we welcome thee ; 

Land of our fathers, here our eyes have seen 

Our slaves transformed to freemen ; and between 

The roar of cannon and the beat of drum 

Heard the deep voice of millions, cry — We come. 

We come, O Freedom ! in the name of all • 

The martyred heroes that obeyed thy call, 

In every land since tyrants ruled the earth 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 115 



And wrong prevailed o'er justice, truth and worth. 

Henceforth the land is free ; never again 

Shall slavery triumph ; every voice and pen 

The wide-world over has declared its doom 

And written Nevermore ! upon its tomb. 

God's evolution tends toward the skies, 

From error's Hades up to Paradise. 

No backward course the law of progress runs, 

But onward still, like planets round their suns; 

Hope and take courage, for the glowing morn 

Is bright with promise to the souls unborn. 



^gmtt. 



(Sung at the Semi-Centennial Services of the First Universalist Society, 
Lynn, April 2q, 1883.) 



Through years of toil uplit by hope, 
Our fathers sowed the living seed; 

The harvest lay beyond their scope — 
They only knew the world's great need. 



u6 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



They saw the crushing power of fear, 
And in the place of outworn creeds 

They bid despairing millions hear 
The song of love and Christian deeds. 



Praise be to Him, whose guiding hand 
In troublous times their footsteps led ; 

No strife nor faction rent their band 
When dangers thickened round their head. 



They wisely planned, and builded well ; 

T is ours to keep the altar-fires ; 
So may the rounded century tell, 

The sons were worthy of the sires. 



Grandest of all the years that lie 
Behind us in the urn of time, 

These fifty years have set on high 
The truth that makes the age sublime. 



COM MEMORY TIVE TOEMS. 1 1 7 



Man shall no longer smite nor kill 
His brother in the name of God ; 

But mightier be the Master's will 
Than bigot's torch, or tyrant's rod. 

Sing peans loud ! for nevermore 
Shall Hate usurp the Gospel's throne; 

But nations, peopling every shore, 
A common brotherhood shall own. 



Hines. 

(Read at the Seventieth Anniversary of John W. Hutchinson.) 



Brave, cheery friend of seventy years, 
(For so time's dial tells the tale), 
Kind hearts like thine keep young and hale, 

They take no counsel of their fears. 



n8 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



For thou hast faith in God and man; 
Built on this double arch, thy hope 
Spans the wide world, and in its scope 

Thine eyes see His eternal plan. 



Born of a gifted race, thy voice 
With brothers twain, and sisters blent, 
Was heard across the continent, 

And back the answer came — Rejoice. 



From pen and tongue the cry was hurled, 
And lightning bore it on, 
And lo ! the slaves great champion 

Stood forth, the idol of the world ! 



Beside the noble Garrison 
Stood one serene, of classic mould, 
And charm of speech ; as Greece of old 

Had set within her Pantheon. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 119 



With these, ye sang your simple lays; 

Your theme, the equal rights of all ; 

One brotherhood of great and small, 
And One, who marks man's devious ways. 



Like minstrel band which legends tell, 

Ye sang old Freedom's key-note grand; 
" No slave must tread our native land." 
No slave, no slave, the echoes swell. 

The poet's fire and music's charm, 

Ye summoned from their ancient throne ; 
Where'er our eagle flag had flown, 

Oppression shook, in dread alarm. 



And some are with us here to-day 
Who knew the greeting England gave 
When first they crossed the stormy wave, 

And heard her gentle poet's lay — 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



" O band of young apostles, ye 

Who in your glorious youth have come 
To give winged utterance to the dumb 
And sound the trump of liberty. 



" Sing of the good time coming, when 
Old hate shall die, and passion's reign, 
And all earth's progeny of pain 
Be banished the abodes of men. 



" Thrice welcome to the father-land — 

One blood, one speech, one hope we own, 
And neither stands or falls alone — 
Love gives to both her great command." 



Sing, minstrel band, of coming peace, 

When olive wreaths shall crown the throne 
Of kings, and mail-clad warriors own 

The spell that bids earth's tumults cease. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



The vision old the Hebrew saw, 
Whose lips, touched with the sacred fire, 
Foretold the suffering world's desire. 

The Master's beatific law. 



Old England sent her welcome out, 
To hear the band of brothers sing. 
Through lordly halls their echoes ring, 

And thousands answer, shout on shout. 



The miner in his living tomb 
Heard something stir the upper air, 
In thronging marts and gardens fair, 

Where robins sing and roses bloom, 



The toiling millions caught the strain, 
And bore it over land and sea, 
And millions joined the jubilee — 

The slave shall be a man again. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



And so we gather here to-night 
Around the spot ye cherish most, 
From far and near, your friends, a host, 

Give token of some mem'ry bright. 



How glow the scenes our eyes behold! 

What visions waken as we gaze ! 

The same sun with the ocean plays, 
The old Rock gleams with sunset's gold. 



The hills still hear the notes sublime, 
That Jesse, bard and minstrel, sung. 
The grand old hymns the ages strung 

Like jewels on the brow of time. 



Long stand the dear old home where played 
The children of thy earlier years, 
Recalling scenes of joy and tears, 

Sweet memories tinged with light and shade. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 123 



Hail, old-time friend, but not farewell ! 
As the swift years shall come and go, 
Borne on by time's resistless flow, 

May age serene sweet mem'ries tell. 



As sunset gilds the "Cottage Tower" 
And paints with gold the Eastern sky, 
Sure pledge the morrow shall not die, 

May faith illume life's evening hour. 

As setting sun at even time 
A new to-morrow's sun fortells, 
So mayst thou hear life's evening bells 

Resound with an immortal chime. 



124 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Iptn. 



(Sung at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the High School House, 
October, i8qo.) 



Eternal Power ! whose voice is heard 
Where'er man bends a listening ear, 

Or where the soul by conscience stirred 
Sees Duty's narrow path more clear. 



This corner-stone we set to-day 
Thy spirit makes a living thing ; 

Whose breath saves empires from decay, 
Whose voices through the ages ring. 



We have for our foundation sure 
The strength of the eternal hills; 

Fit type of that which shall endure — 
The Power that moulds our human wills. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 125 



The temple that shall crown this spot 
Hath an immortal inner shrine, 

And when the builders are forgot, 
Earth hears its oracles divine. 



The tree of knowledge planted here 
Forever lives, though nations die ; 

And where its healing leaves appear 
Man sees a fairer land and sky. 



To this fair shrine the youth and maid 
Shall come in life's sweet morning time 

Shall hear the lyre that Orpheus played, 
And old Parnassus daily climb. 



Shall taste of that Pierian fount, 
Whose waters turn life's desert sand 

To balmy groves and holy mount, 
Whose top o'erlooks the promised land. 



126 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



So shall our sons high manhood reach ; 

Our daughters nobler spheres adorn ; 
And thus the Pilgrim land shall teach 

The countless nations yet unborn. 

E t&eminisicnue. 

(Read at the Reunion of the Young Men's Debating Society, i8qi.) 



You 've heard my friend's melodious verse, 16 
In rhythmic numbers softly flowing, 
And heard his limpid prose, thus showing 

There's little need I should rehearse. 



With classics oozing from his lips, 
And filled with various kinds of lore, 
From Marathon to Swampscott's shore, 

He's charged from head to finger tips 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 127 



With all the reminiscences 
And all the facts historical, 
And legends allegorical, 

E'er known about the Y. M. D's. 



If you but let him have his way 

He'd start behind the pyramids 

From Cheops down through all his " kids " 
And end — 1 should n't dare to say. 



To quote again, a witty member, 
He 'd soak with barefoot Socrates, 
And rip with old Euripides, 

From New Year's Day till late December. 



1 '11 tell my little tale in rhyme, 
In contrast with his polished verse, 
And rounded periods, neat and terse, 

Wide winnowing all the fields of time. 



128 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



But from this episode we'll turn 
With old-time friends to spend an hour; 
From Memory's garden cull the flower 

Whose fragrance fills her sacred urn. 



Hail, honored friend, our guest to-night, l7 
Long years have passed since first we met, 
And the wide spaces time has set 

Has bleached the hair and dimmed the sight. 



But though the hair is turning gray, 
(Of those who've any hair to turn) 
We 're not — so far as I can learn — 

More than two=thirds as green to-day. 

And though we note some signs of blue, 
As life's bright morning mounts to noon, 
And see with hastening steps how soon 

The twilight brings its somber hue. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 129 



Still faith survives ; the years will bring 
The shadows that on all must fall. 
Hope hears the voice of duty call, 

And faith and hope from duty spring. 



But those old days, how rich they were, 
And how we reveled in the thought 
That in life's battle to be fought 

No danger should our steps deter. 



Soon came the time of blood and tears; 

War's trumpet notes that Freedom blew 

Presaging slavery's Waterloo, 
Aroused the nation's hopes and fears. 



Some joined the ranks, and some with pen 
And voice and helping hand and heart 
Did what they could, and made a part 

Of the great host of loyal men. 



i 3 o COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



And some among us here to-night 
Recall his early days and know 
The course he steered that sure and slow 

Led to the goal of Truth and right. 

They saw this shy and thoughtful boy 
That walked slow-paced, and as he went 
On some great problem seemed intent — 

Had reservoirs of sunny joy. 



And grew more genial year by year, 
And, like Mark Tapley, could be jolly ; 
Believed that work cured melancholy, 

And hope, a better guide than fear. 

And as a duck to water runs, 
He ran or leaped to mathematics 
Celestial and terrestrial statics, 

And soared from planets on to suns. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 131 



Besides all this he joined the " Club." 
The Y. M. D.'s renowned in story, 
Then flourishing in all its glory, 

A sort of literary " Hub." 



We miss familiar forms to-night, 
Whose gifts and graces linger yet; 
Whose memory we can ne'er forget ; 

Whose voice still calls us to the light. 



Hope guides the world ! the better things 
Behind, around us and beyond, 
Are ever man's eternal bond, 

That good from seeming evil springs. 



God rules the world ; forever more 
The signals flame from Horeb's Mount; 
And old Bethesda's sacred fount, 

Is multiplied on every shore. 



132 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



$n i^lcmoriam. 

(Cyrus M. Tracy, September, i8gi.) 



In the hushed chamber, in the solemn night, 
A child of genius saw the vision break; 
No mortal eye beheld the chariot take 

His unbound spirit to the gates of light. 



No worn-out watcher caught the parting word 
Oft the dread ending of a siege of pain; 
But, as if wearied, seemed to seek again 

The balm of sleep, it may be, slumbering, heard 



Once more the double anthem of the sea, 

And pines' low murmuring that he loved so well ; 
That tinged his dreams with thoughts ineffable — 

Faint type of greater glories yet to be. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 133 



Perhaps the glow of that bright Autumn day- 
His last on earth — his unveiled vision fills ; 
The maple's crown of glory on the hills ; 

The gorgeous harbinger of swift decay. 



In that dread instant, ere the summons came, 
Perchance he heard a strain unheard before ; 
And with illumined sight, beheld the shore 

The seer of Patmos saw, 'cross seas of flame, 



Or dreamed of brooks, soft-sighing through the vale, 
Or hum of bees that from Hymettus' mount 
Bore nectar ; and beheld the healing fount 

Whose living waters rippled in the gale. 



He had the poet's gift, and on the height 

Of old Parnassus heard the strains 

That swept the mountains and the storied plains, 
And caught blind Homer's song and saw the light 



134 COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 



That Sappho kindled on the sacred hill ; 
Enchanted, read the songs of minstrel band 
Whose notes of Freedom rang from land to land — 

Immortal bards, whose music lingers still. 



Untaught in schools and college halls, he learned 
From Nature's page more than the schoolmen taught. 
The song of birds to him its wisdom brought ; 

He knew the hues that summer's sun had burned 



Upon the cheek of every mountain flower, 
And read the lessons ages had engraved 
On curious stones that vanished oceans laved, 

Far back in ancient Time's primeval hour. 



His voice and facile pen first told the wealth 
That lies enshrined in woods and templed hills ; 
The healing pine and living mountain rills, 

That fill her priceless reservoirs of health. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 135 



Where the tired sons of toil, at close of day, 
Shall drink the nectar of the balmy air ; 
Where childhood's laugh shall smooth the brow of care 

The benediction of the young at play. 



There is no need of shaft or monument ; 
The craggy heights that bear the sacred name 
Heard since creation's morn and still the same 

Shall be a voice forever eloquent. 



What though he saw not with another's eyes, 
How best this boon might serve his fellow men ; 
May we not reverent ask — What mortal ken 

Can know the path where others' duty lies ? 



The " Iliad of woes " that bore him down 

None knew, nor sought the depths that he alone 
Had pierced. Shall not the seed in sorrow sown 

Turn the dark cypress to a victor's crown ? 



136 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Fit time, that on that bright autumnal day, 
When Summer's rohe was still upon the trees, 
As if she stayed to hear his obsequies — 

We in the Grove of Pines his form did lay. 



What thoughts shall cluster round this hallowed spot, 
As in the coming years men seek his grave, 
And read the names his fertile fancy gave — 

A living record nevermore forgot. 



This shall be consecrated ground ; the air, 
The sea and wood, united requiem sing; 
Where every sight and sound and living thing, 

Sends up its incense of perpetual prayer. 

Our ancient Essex has inscribed his name 

High on the rolls where Science sheds her light ; 
His patient toil has made her fields more bright ; 

Adorns her page with one more wreath of fame. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 137 



Here in our midst he lived, and here he wrought, 
Strong in the faith that Justice crowns the years; 
On scrolls unnumbered yet his name appears, 

And when these fade, still live the lessons taught. 

Hincs. 

(Read at the Forty-first Anniversary of the Exploring Circle, i8qi.) 



Friends of the Circle, one and forty years 
Have passed since first we met, a little band ; 
No other era and no other land 

Has kindled hopes so high or roused so many fears. 



Well may the cry be heard, What of the night ! 

Oh, watchman at the world's great gates? 

What is the good for which man's spirit waits, 
Have not the gilded clouds foretold the morning light ? 



138 COMMEMORATIVE 'POEMS. 



The stripes of saints, the blood of martyrs shed 
On every field that tyrants ever won, 
The battle smoke that dimmed old Freedom's sun, 

Is this no lesson to the living from the dead ? 



Take courage, ye of little faith ; the world 
Has lost no jot of power since first the earth 
Rolled on its endless course; or since the birth 

Of conscious sense of right that Duty's flag unfurled. 

That banner, sign of hope to seer and slave, 
Oft torn to tatters, trailing in the dust, 
Was never wholly lost ; nor lost man's trust 

That soon or late Truth's ensign would in triumph wave. 

And thus we work in hope, our humble aim 
To leave the world with one more ray of light 
Has not perhaps been vain ; some memory bright 

May long survive, and thrill at mention of our name. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 139 



Within a few brief years and half our roll 
Have crossed the line of that eternal shore, 
And while we listen to the waves' deep roar, 

Are there no echoes answering to the waiting soul ? 



But from this sombre retrospect we turn ; 

What lies behind us is not all of life ; 

Life, growth, decay, the seeming strife, 
Of forces none can measure, secrets, none can learn, 



Teach us there is a voice that to man's self reveals 
A Power unseen " That makes for righteousness." 
And earth's mutations, pain and sore distress 

Are the high priests at altars where the spirit kneels. 

Is Life worth living ? ask we not in vain 
While the full pulse of life is beating still 
That man's high hopes of greater good fulfill ? 

These tell us Life and Death, Creation's law maintain. 



140 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Is Life worth living? ask the youth and maid 
In the first flush of Love's transcendent morn, 
Whose dreams with rainbow hues the clouds adorn, 

And light with suns and stars the darkness and the shade. 



Ask the young mother when her kindling eyes 
Catch the first smile upon her first-born's cheek ; 
Or the first word his infant tongue can speak ; 

" Life is to me," she cries, " the gates of Paradise." 

Ask martyrs, patriots, prophets, if the life 
They spent with ax and dungeon full in sight 
Was worth the living ; and from Wrong's black night 

From cell and scaffold answer comes — a righteous strife 



That ends in death has not been born in vain - 
The harvest has more value than the seed ; 
And Justice for which souls heroic bleed, 

Cannot be measured in the brittle cup of pain. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 141 



Is life worth living for the hearts that yearn 
For home and kindred, friends of early days, 
Upon whose path no light of gladness plays? 

Have such no treasures stored in Memory's golden urn ? 



Does not the eternal order still remain ? 

Nor sunlight gild the world ? No roses bloom ? 

No balmy woods, no garden's sweet perfume — 
Earth's incense to the early and the latter rain ? 



No trumpet call at Duty's high behest 
Resounding clear above self's plaint of woe ? 
No voice of Conscience as it whispers low — 

" The life we live for others, that alone is blest ? " 



Friends of the Circle, let us not forget 
We journey on in Life's late afternoon, 
While lengthening shadows warn that all too soon 

The fringed clouds foretell earth's waning sun has set. 



142 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



But millions with their faces to the east, 
Await with shouts of joy the coming morn ; 
And the red mantling blood their cheeks adorn, 

Comes from the nectar founts, they quaff at youth's 
rich feast. 

We who have played our part and find the years 
Move on in narrowing circles as they fly, 
May thougthless utter our complaining cry, 

Forget the joys we knew, and cling to all our fears. 

Forgetting all the hours when our full cup 
O'erflowed with blessings which we counted not ; 
Full days and years that were our common lot 

When cares were light as air, and trusting faith looked up. 

What we call Life and Death are only one ; 
Each an essential part of God's great plan, 
That finds completion in perfected man — 

Though darkness dims the light, forever shines the sun. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 143 



The heedless, doubting world will one day learn 
That Faith hath wings that bear her far above 
The heights by Learning gained ; and twin-born Love, 

The eye of faith, looks down, where Reason's altars burn. 



What have the century's closing years to show 
To earth's unnumbered millions yet to come, 
Of Freedom's hosts that marched with muffled drum, 

While Slavery's serpent coiled to strike a deadly blow ? 



What triumphs has man wrought along the line 
The spell of genius marked in her bold flight, 
While Science held her blazing torch, whose light 

Made known new worlds where suns and planets shine ? 



The fiery steeds that rush o'er paths of steel, 

Through sunny vales and round the mountains wind, 
Where e'en the lordly eagle dreads to find 

The power of man, more than he fears the thunder's peal. 



144 COMMEMORATIVE TO EMS. 



But the great thought that genius brooded long 
Ere Franklin drew the lightning from the skies, 
The muse of Shakespeare caught the truth that lies 

So deep that Science learned it from the poet's song. 



And lo ! beneath the waves the message flies 
With varied tidings round the waiting world, 
And where the smoke from countless cabins curled 

Is read the checkered page, with glad or sorrowing eyes. 



Oh, age of wonders; greater marvels still 
Rise to confound the wisdom of the wise ; 
Man whispers, and around the world there flies 

The unseen thought, obedient to his lordly will. 

Friend talks with friend, the merchant princes send 
Tidings full freighted with the nation's weal ; 
Or words that makes the thrones of empires reel 

War's summons, kings and councils must attend. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 145 



The electric ether that all spaces fills 

Turns night to day and drives the loaded car; 

On unseen wings soars to the farthest star 
But does man's bidding as his pleasure wills. 



Thou grandest century since the shepherds heard 
The song of Peace and human brotherhood ; 
Or when the Master on the mountain stood 

And uttered to the nations, Love's omnific word. 



Who taught the world that naught but Justice stands, 
That Right shall Wrong's vast empire overthrow, 
And all that craft and greed have builded slow 

Shall perish in the blaze of His divine commands. 



Evil is transient, lives but for a day ; 
Good is eternal, with its pillars deep 
In the unmeasured past ; and round it sweep 

The raging tides of ill, — for evermore its sway. 



146 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



What though the pessimistic cynic sneers 

At Progress, and still sighs for good old ways ; 
Did not ancestral cynics waste their days 

In making known the truth — they had no eyes or ears ? 



These cynics old were scorched in Homer's fire, 
Though sung in minor key and lower strain ; 
Prophets of ill, whose dolorous refrain 

The stormy petrel shrieks, prelude to tempests dire. 



But greater than the triumphs thou hast won, 
O Native Land that makes thy honored name 
The light of natrons on the roll of fame — 

Is the great work for woman thou has nobly done. 



" The Paradise of Woman ; " higher praise 
Than this cannot be rendered thee; for thou 
Canst wear no higher crown upon thy brow, 

Nor prouder monument to thee thy children raise. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 147 



Not like old Rome upon her seven hills 
Shalt thou, oh Pilgrim Land, the mighty rod 
Of empire wield ; but every land whose sod 

Is wet with martyrs' blood, the prophet's word fulfills. 



Oh light to guide the darkened nations thou ! 
Pointing the world to Freedom and to Truth - 
That Justice only has perpetual youth, 

And those alone survive who at her altars bow. 



&m Higi)t to Plan is <Eome. 

(Sung: at a Special Service held January, i8q2.) 



New Light to man has come — 
Not with the beat of drum 
And battle's din ; 



148 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



But with the song of peace 
That bids earth's tumults cease, 
And brings the glad release 
From bonds of sin. 



The words the Master spake, 
Unnumbered echoes wake, 

In every clime. 
Forever Olive's mount 
And old Bethesda's fount 
Shall all His deeds recount, 

Through endless time. 

The good shall win at last; 
Not all man's evils past 

Have quenched this light ; 
Nor coming hosts of ill, 
Nor man's perverted will, 
Nor greed, nor cunning skill, 

Shall slay the right. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Then let the mighty strain 
Roll on o'er sea and main 

From shore to shore; 
Till Peace her banners wave ; 
Till Freedom crown the slave ; 
Wrong's empire find a grave, 

To rise no more. 



149 



Ustnn. 



(Sung at the Dedication of the High Schoolhouse, 
June 17, i8g2.) 



Spirit Divine, to Thee 

Thy children bend the knee. 

And light implore. 
This temple here we raise 
To Thee, Ancient of Days, 
Guide of man's devious ways 

To Wisdom's door. 



150 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Built on this solid rock 

Naught but the earthquake's shock 

Can overthrow. 
This shrine we consecrate 
The ages without date 
And monarchs' mighty state 

Have builded slow. 



Old Egypt's pyramid 

In Time's gray morning hid 

Speaks here to-day. 
Beneath these massive walls 
Within these pictured halls, 
The distant echo falls 

From far away. 



The sculptor's touch divine, 
The artist's bending line, 
The centuries span ; 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 151 



On lofty rounded dome 
• Sit ancient Greece and Rome — 
Where'er Art has her home 
She speaks to man. 

The Pilgrim band who lost 
Their childhood home and crossed 

The raging flood, 
With us the anthem join 
To Him whose wise design 
Weighs in a balance fine 

The martyr's blood. 

Our fathers now in dust 

In faith kept this great trust ; 

Their works survive ; 
While they in silence sleep, 
Their grateful children reap 
The harvest that shall keep 

The world alive. 



152 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



So shall this structure grand 
A hope to every land 

Forever be ; 
And Knowledge lead the way 
From Error's night to day, 
Bright with the quenchless ray 

Of Liberty. 



Jttount Crtleati. 

(The Planting of Memorial Trees.) 



On this fair spot where Nature piles 
Her monuments on every hand, 

Whose tops greet Morning's earliest smiles, 
The votaries of the Forest stand. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 153 



How grand are these majestic hills! 

How sweet the vales that lie below ! 
How the soft music of the rills 

Blends with the waves' incessant flow. 



How calmly Gilead's eye looks down 
On peopled plains and distant shore; 

Unmoved at Ocean's angry frown 
Serene amid the billows' roar. 



Long ere the pyramids woke life 
On ancient Egypt's shifting sand, 

From out the elemental strife, 
The mountains rose at God's command, 



And stood like regal sentinels 

And to the threat'ning waters spake, — 
" Come not too nigh, for in these dells 
Shall man his future dwelling make." 



154 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



And on these sun-crowned heights be heard 
The two -fold choir of land and wave ; 

An anthem by the breezes stirred, 
Grander than rose from Memnon's cave. 



Here plant we the memorial tree 18 
To manly worth and duty done ; 

Whose power the coming years shall see 
In triumph which their labor won. 



Here shall the name of Tracy blend 
With every sight and every sound ; 

Where balmy pines their fragrance lend 
And near the heights his genius crowned. 

Beneath these shades shall memory run 
Through the long years his talent wrought ; 

And teach the lessons one by one 
That nevermore can be forgot. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 155 



And here shall those remember long 
Their guide, instructor, constant friend ; 

And round the name of Chase shall throng 
Bright visions that shall never end. 



For youth has its immortal years 
And fountains of exhaustless hope; 

And faith that triumphs over fears 
And trusts in good's unmeasured scope. 



And as we sit beneath the shade 

Our thoughts shall turn to him whose song 
Beguiled the social hour, and made 

The chain of friendship doubly strong. 



To the long line that bears the name 
Of Newhall, ever honored here, 

Lynn adds another wreath of fame — 
The genial friend and poet dear. 



156 COMMEMORATIVE 'POEMS. 



Here to this forest shrine shall come 
The youth to learn how deep the lore 

Great Nature whispers in the hum 
Of myriad tongues on mount and shore. 



Here the tired child of toil shall tread 
The restful paths, and breathe the air 

Whose couriers from the mountains sped 
With healing for the sons of care. 



And hear an anthem grander far 
Than ever from cathedral rose 

Since shepherds gazed on Bethlehem's star- 
A harp played by each wind that blows. 

And generations yet unborn 

Shall visit this enchanted spot 
And incense of the night and morn, 

Shall hallow every scene and thought. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 157 



(For Columbian Year, i8g2.) 



Lord of the Harvest; east and west 
The list'ning winds thy mandate hear ; 

The tempest heeds thy high behest, 
And plenty crowns the waning year. 



From north and south thy heralds fly 
That bear thy message round the world ; 

And life comes forth from air and sky, 
Her flag on every height unfurled. 



On hill-side slope, in sunny vale, 
The waving grass its beauty gave 

In scented fragrance to the gale, 
While vines their odorous banners wave. 



158 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Ten thousand fields of ripening corn, 
Welcome the sun's glad light and heat ; 

And breezes of the early morn 
Play with the golden sheaves of wheat. 



Columbia throned among the hills 
Her more than two score children greet ; 

Far up she hears the murm'ring rills 
That swell to torrents at her feet. 



Whose waters bear to famished lands 
Rich argosies of golden grain, 

Where mothers with uplifted hands 
Hail their preserver o'er the main. 



The famine hour of Erin's isle, 
Her grateful sons can ne'er forget; 

For deathless memories built erewhile 
A shrine that in their hearts is set. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 159 



Mother of growing empires, thou 
Whose teeming millions own thy sway, 

And to thy gentle sceptre bow — 
Lead on the world to Freedom's day ! 



From north to south, from east to west 
Count up thy roll of sister states 

From Maine's still lakes, where shadows rest 
To California's golden gates. 



From the great waters, where the skies 
Are tinted with unnumbered hues, 

Where forms like birds of paradise 
Are mirrored in the morning dews — 

Onward, where rolls the Oregon, 
And where Alaska's mountains tower 

Untrodden since creation's dawn — 
Echo to traffic's mighty power. 



i6o COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Great Native Land ; the world's last hope ! 

By faith we read between the lines 
And see in thee what boundless scope 

Thy destiny with man's entwines. 



Among her cities fair to see, 
The jewel of our eastern shore, 

Old Lynn, may claim our loyalty 
Whose beauties spread the landscape o'er. 



We gather round this festive board 
And backward glance at years gone by ; 

For in their sacred urns are stored 
Sweet mem'ries that can never die. 



And one dear face we miss to-night, 
A voice oft heard we hear no more 19 

But still his genial smile sheds light — 
The smile our laureate ever wore. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. ^i 



We miss to-night his cheering words 
His wit and wisdom left behind, 

That gladdened like the song of birds; 
Immortal treasures of the mind. 



The fleeting years that come and go 
And make of life's kaleidoscope 

More than a dream, an empty show 
But visions filled with faith and hope — 

Are full of promise to mankind; 

And every cloud that hangs around 
The low horizon of the mind 

Is charged with lightning — and the sound 

Of conflict, till the skies are clear, 
Is heard and ever shall be heard 

Till ignorance and slavish fear 
Dissolve as mists by breezes stirred. 



1 62 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



The whining pessimist may find 
Wisdom in things misunderstood ; 

And being deaf, and dumb, and blind, 
Sees nothing right, or bright, or good. 

The harvest waves, the birds still sing, 
The glory of the woods is ours; 

The joy of every living thing 
Fills up wide spaces of the hours. 



Hills shout to greet the rising sun, 
The echoes through the valleys roll: 

And brooklets laughing as they run 
Are Nature's voices to the soul. 



These speak of hope; of better things 
For earth's oppressed, the tempted, poor; 

And every song that Nature sings 
Tells man that Wrong cannot endure. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 163 



Old friends and young, this festive night 
This word I wish to leave with you: 

E'er keep your faces to the light; 
Have faith in all things good and true. 

In IHemoriam. 

(John T. Moulton, October, i8q2.) 



Near friend and true through many a year! 20 

I lay this tribute on his bier 

In memory of a noble man 

Whose life was built on Heaven's high plan. 

His thoughts on highest good intent, 
His treasure and his service lent; 
His well-trained judgment understood 
The lines that serve the public good. 



1 64 COMMEMORATIVE 'POEMS. 



Dear friend ; we see thy face no more, 
But, standing- on life's boundless shore, 
Shall not the spirit's eye discern 
The lights that o'er the billows burn ? 

Shall not our ear catch the high note 
That o'er the gulf may sometimes float ? 
And like the shell where surges sweep 
Hear music far across the deep ? 



We drop the burning tear for those 
Crushed by this " Iliad of woes ; " 
To heal the anguish of their grief 
Needs other balm than cypress leaf. 

Angel of Hope, stand near the cloud 
That wraps them in its mantling shroud; 
Till falls upon its leaden rim 
The light that shines on cherubim. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 165 



Angel of Patience, near them stay, 
While sorrow shuts the eye of day ; 
Be with them till the tempest makes 
The golden hues, the rainbow takes. 



Angel of Faith, make thy abode 
With them, a guide on every road ; 
In joy or grief, till latest breath, 
Unshrouds the mystery of death. 



Strong Angel thou, that builds between 
The gates we see and those unseen, 
The bridge that thousands daily cross 
To find the gain they counted loss. 



Blest Memory's sacred cup of bliss 
Were poor exchange for those we miss, 
If Faith hold not her torch above 
The fading forms of those we love. 



166 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Columbian Sonnet. 



Heroic Seer ! what visions dwelt with thee 

In the long watches of the anxious night, 

When stars unregistered gave dubious light, 

And sights unwonted, in the air and sea 

Scared thy dull crew till muttered mutiny 

Threatened destruction to thy hopes so bright. 

Brave pilot o'er the unknown deep ! the flight 

Of birds, the floating weed, the melody 

Of music strange, weird forms unseen before 

On land or wave, were signs thy prophet eye 

Beheld ; till came the cry — the shore ! the shore ! 

O, Brave Columbus ! continents will vie 

To build thy monument, and evermore 

Thy name shall stand with those that cannot die. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 167 



Joijn (§. S2at)ittier. 



Men say thy earthly task is done, 
And nations pause and bow the head ; 

Not so — thy work is just begun, 
And in the light thy life has shed 

Where'er injustice holds its throne, 
The world reaps what thy hand has sown. 



Undimmed, this light illumes the world ; 

Unquenched the torch that thou hast lit ; 
The flag of Right, when once unfurled 

Above the darkness of the pit 
Must wave forever — here or there 

It floats a signal 'gainst despair. 



1 68 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Poet and seer! thy varied song 

Has a full note for every ear ; 
And as its music swells along 

The waiting nations pause to hear; 
The mourner's sacred sorrow feels 

A rock of rest, a balm that heals. 

In darkened homes thy song made glad 
The millions that have heard thy lay ; 

Sounding a note of hope that bade 
Their night of trouble turn to day; 

And henceforth through their lives there flowed 
New impulse which thy muse bestowed. 

The slave holds up his riven chain, 
And wonders at the unseen power 

That lifts to manhood's throne again 
The new-born child of Freedom's hour ; 

Bids his dark cabin glow with light, 
As new-found jewels greet his sight. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 169 



Thy notes were like the bugle call 
Rousing the soldier from his sleep ; 

The watchman's cry upon the wall, 
The lightning's flash near pitfalls deep; 

A bolt that clears the murky air, 
The dread of tyrants everywhere. 

Nature's high priest, whose altars span 
The spaces of the earth and sea, 

When her dark voices speak to man 
In tones of doubt and mystery — 

Thy ministries invoked the light 
That puts man's faithless fears to flight. 

To thee great Nature was a book 
Filled with all wondrous varied lore ; 

And every dell and shady nook 
The note of bird, and ocean's roar, 

Joined in their nine-fold harmonies, 
And told her ancient mysteries. 



170 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



And when upon the mountain top 
Thine eye surveyed the glories shed 

As clouds their misty mantle drop 
To cover the majestic head 

Of the great monarch of the hills — 
What glory thy rapt vision fills. 

Thy lay was like the song of bird 

That cheered thy dear New England home; 

Or grand, like ocean's anthem heard, 
When surges swell their crests of foam ; 

Thy hand has dropped the sylvan lyre, 
But left unquenched the poet's fire. 

Brave singer on the world's great heights! 

Thy song shall echo evermore! 
Thy battle cry for human rights 

Shall still be heard on mount and shore ; 
And far-off isles and savage coasts 

Hail thee a chief 'mong Freedom's hosts. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 171 



&ennj>0on. 



Thou whose fine fingers swept the keys of Life 

And Death, and sat in sacred sorrow's place 
Till the first tempest in grief's stormy strife 

Had passed away, and her angelic face 
Shone with the radiance of a new-born grace — 

The world is thy great debtor evermore ; 
And nations strange — dwellers on every shore — 

Hail thee, high priest, whose ministry divine 
Hath altars everywhere; and every age gives sign 

That it doth know the symbols of a tear ; 
But in its crystal depths, reflected clear, 

Man sees a two-fold image, Faith and Hope ; 
And " In Memoriam," read beneath the cope 

Of the wide heavens, to sorrowing hearts is dear. 



TRANSLATIONS FROM THE GERMAN. 



®i)e JEinstrers Curse. 

(From the German of Uhland.) 



There stood an ancient castle, tow'ring in lofty pride ; 
Far o'er the land it glistened, e'en to the water's side ; 
Around were blooming gardens, that twined it like a 

wreath, 
The splendors of the rainbow gleamed in the founts 

beneath. 

Rich with the spoils of nations, a haughty king was there ; 
He on his throne was seated, and frowned with gloomy 

air; 
For every thought is terror, and every look is rage, 
And all his words are scourges ; he writes — blood stains 

the page. 

(172) 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 173 



There came unto this castle a noble minstrel pair, 
One wearing golden ringlets and one with silvery hair; 
The old man, harp before him, sat on a gallant steed, 
The blooming boy beside him strode on with lively 
speed. • 



Thus spake the aged minstrel : " Now be prepared, my 

boy; 
Our deepest songs remember, our loftiest notes employ ; 
With power thrill every bosom, whence pain and pleasure 

start, 
For we to-day must soften the monarch's stony heart." 



Now ready stand the minstrels in pillared halls of pride ; 
There sat enthroned the monarch — the queen was at 

his side; 
The king in fearful splendor, like crimson northern light ; 
The queen looked sweet and gentle, like the full moon 

at night. 



174 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



The old man struck the harp strings, swept them with 

wondrous skill; 
Of music swelling sweeter, the ear drank in its fill: 
Then rose with heavenly clearness, the youthful voice 

still higher, 
The old man's song low mingling, like distant spirit 

choir. 



They sing of Love and Springtime, the golden age of 
bliss, 

Of manly worth and Freedom, of Truth and Holiness; 

They sing of all things dearest, that human hearts con- 
trol; 

They sing of all things lofty that lift the human soul. 

From that proud, courtly circle all scorn is banished 

now; 
The king's defiant warriors before their Maker bow ; 
In joy and grief alternate the queen's emotion flows, 
The rose upon her bosom she to the minstrels throws. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 175 



" Ye have enstranged my people, and tempt ye now 
my wife ? " 

The king exclaimed in anger, trembling with passion's 
strife ; 

Swift through the youthful bosom he hurls his gleam- 
ing sword, 

Instead of songs upgushing, life's crimson tide is poured. 



As dust by whirlwinds scattered, all fly in dread alarm, 
And dead the youth is lying upon his master's arm ; 
He wraps his mantle round him and sets him on his 

horse, 
And binding him uprightly, departs beside the corse. 



Now by the lofty gateway, the old man lingers near, 
And there his harp he seizes, the harp of all most 

dear; 
Against a marble pillar he breaks the sacred lyre, 
Then echo through the arches his imprecations dire. 



176 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



" Woe, woe to you, proud castle ! for never more along 
Your halls may sweetly echo the notes of harp or song ; 
No ! only sighs and groaning, and tread of slavish bands, 
Till on your mouldering ruins th' avenging spirit stands. 

" Woe, woe to you, sweet gardens ! in the soft light of 

May 
This dead one's ghastly visage I show to you to-day ; 
That, gazing, ye may wither, and every spring be dry, 
That petrified by ages, a desolation lie.! 

" Woe, woe to thee, base murderer ! curse of the min- 
strel's name ! 
In vain be all thy longings for bloody wreaths of fame ; 
Thy name be it forgotten, plunged in Oblivion's tide, 
Be like death's warning rattle that on the air hath died : " 

The old man has implored it, and Heaven has heard 

the cry ; 
The halls have met destruction, the walls in ruin lie ; 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 177 



One lofty pillar only, tells of a splendor gone ; 
E'en this, already broken, may fall before the dawn. 

Where once bloomed fragrant gardens, now pines a land 

of dearth; 
No tree extends its shadow, no fount springs from the 

earth ; 
No song the king's name mentions, nor legendary verse ; 
But buried and forgotten — this is the minstrel's curse. 



GTlje JBtotsion of tije 2Eartt)< 

(From the German of Schiller.) 



To mortals once great Jupiter thus spake 
"Receive the world — yours it shall be; 
Take the possession, and the title take ; 
Among you share it brotherly." 



178 COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Then hastening justly to divide the goods, 

Busy the young and old appear; 
The farmer takes Earth's fruits ; and in the woods 

The youthful noble hunts the deer. 



The merchant takes what every store contains; 

The abbot, last year's yield of wine; 
The king shuts up the bridges, streets and lanes, 

And cries — "A tenth is mine." 



At length, when all was shared, drew nigh 
The poet ; from afar he came ; 

Alas! there's nothing now to meet his eye- 
To everything there is a claim. 



" Ah ! woe to me ! and am I then alone 
Forgotten ? I, who served thee well ? " 
Thus loudly wailing with complaining tone, 
Before the mighty god he fell. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 179 



" If in the land of dreams thyself delayed," 
Answered the god, " then blame not me ; 
Where wast thou when of all things shares were made ? " 
" I was," the poet said, " with thee. 



"Mine eye was dazzled by thy glorious sight ; 

Celestial harmonies entranced mine ear; 
Forgive the soul, which, giddy from thy light, 

Lost all things on this earthly sphere." 



" The world I gave away," the god replied ; 
" What wilt thou do ? for nothing now is mine ; 
But if in heaven thou wishest to abide, 
Come when thou wilt — it shall be thine." 



i8o COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



Hittle &nna. 

(From the German of Rosalie Koch.) 



A blind old man, with snowy hair, 
Walks trembling - on from door to door; 

In mean and scanty garments clad, 
An angel guide moves on before. 



It is a gentle little maid, 

Who on a father's steps attends ; 
So soft the notes sweet Anna sings, 

Each heart before their magic bends. 



She warbles forth the plaintive song 

Which tells the old man's want and grief; 

And many, moved to pity, drop 
Into her hand the sought relief. 



• 
COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. jSi 



Out from a palace steps a dame, 

Lovely, and decked in gorgeous dress, 
Who kindly asks the little one, 
"Do'st thou thy task with willingness? 5 



Into the stately lady's face 

Young Anna's eyes beamed sweetly mild; 
And, whispering softly, she replies, 
" How else could I be a good child ? " 

With moistened eyes the lady speaks: 
" Come in ; thou shalt my fortune share ; 
A beggar thou shalt be no more, 
But gay and costly garments wear. 

" On silken cushions thou shalt rest ; 

With painful toil mayst thou dispense; 
And richest dainties be thy food; 
Thy childlike song, my recompense." 



1 82 COMMEMORATIVE 'POEMS. 



"And my poor father?" "Lovely child, 
Thy father now is blind and old : 
He cannot fill a servant's place, 

And wait in halls adorned with gold. 

" But since thou lovest him so well, 

Thy food with him thou shalt divide; 
For we should help the suffering poor, 
And for their daily wants provide. 



" But though thou should'st be dutiful, 
Thy father's steps no longer tread ; 
And then the world will soon forget 
That thou hast ever begged thy bread." 



Then glowed young Anna's lovely face, 
And proudly to the dame said she, 

Can I forget that I 'm his child ? 
How canst thou think so mean of me ? 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 183 



" Much rather would I longer seek 

My plain and scanty bread and drink, 
Than dwell in all your wealth and ease, 
And blush whene'er I stop to think." 



The lady pressed her to her heart, 
And, weeping tears of joy, she smiled 
" Great thy temptation — thy reward 
Awaiteth thee, thou lovely child." 



At her command a servant leads 
Within the gate the beggar blind ; 

Shows him a chamber small and neat — 
A home, the child and father find. 



And Anna led him by the hand, 

Till on his eyes beamed Heaven's own light; 
His dying blessing fell on her, 

His angel guide through life's dark night. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



The lady reared the orphan child, 
And gave her all a mother's care; 

For filial love, devout and pure, 
Hath higher worth than jewels rare. 



fttje JBitmigftt Malfc. 

(From the German of Herwkgh.) 



Alone I wander with the ghost of night, 

Through the wide silent streets, the haunts of men 
An hour ago, and here how many wept ! 

How many laughed ! and now they dream again. 
Pleasure has vanished like a perished flower ! 

The maddest goblets now have ceased to stream ! 
And grief departed with the sun's last rays — 

The world is weary, let it, let it dream! 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 185 



How all my envious hate in fragments breaks, 

Now that the day's wild storm no longer roars ; 
The moon, her mild, conciliatory light 

E'en o'er the faded leaves of roses pours; 
Light as a tone, and noiseless as a star, 

My soul into these spaces swiftly flies, 
And, as into itself, it sinks in all, 

And man's most secret dreams before me rise. 

My shadow steals behind me like a spy ; 

Silent I stand before a prison's gate ; 
O Fatherland, here thy too faithful son 

For love of thee now mourns a bitter fate. 
He sleeps — and is he conscious of his loss ? 

Or is he dreaming of his oaken bowers ? 
Or that a victor's wreath is round his brow ? 

O, God of Freedom, guard his dreaming hours! 

Before me now a giant palace towers ; 
! look behind the crimson curtains where 



1 86 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



A sleeper lies, who fiercely grasps his sword 
With sinful and with rage-bewildered air; 

His visage gleams as gleams his shining crown ; 
For flight, a thousand steeds await his will ; 

He 's dashed to earth ! it opens, and he 's lost — 
O, God of Vengeance, let him slumber still ! 

In yonder lowly cot, beside the brook, 

Virtue and hunger share a lowly bed ; 
The lord has given the laborer his dream, 

A solace for his waking hours of dread. 
With every seed the hand of Morpheus sows, 

He sees a golden-bounded cornfield gleam ; 
His narrow dwelling spreads throughout the world - 

O, God of Want, still let the poor man dream ! 

Near the last house, upon the stony bank, 
Awhile I '11 pause, and ask a blessing there; 

I love thee well, my child, though not alone ; 
Freedom with thee my heart shall ever share. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 187 



A pair of doves rock thee in golden air ; 

Naught but wild steeds upon my vision beam ; 
Thou dream'st of butterflies — of vultures 1 — 

O, God of Love, still let my maiden dream ! 



Thou Star, which breaks like fortune from the clouds ! 

Thou, Night, with thy deep, silent blue, 
Let not too early the awakened world 

My gloomy, sorrow-stricken visage view ! 
On tears the earliest sunbeam gently falls ! 

Freedom must vanish with the coming dawn ; 
For tyrants then again will whet the steel — 

O, God of Dreams, still let us all dream on! 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



&i)e aBise Mm ana tije jfool. 

(From the German of Nicolai.) 



A wise man saw with heartfelt joy his name 
Borne through the world upon the wings of Fame, 
Which prophesied of immortality ; 
"I am the Phoenix of my age; like me 
But few have ever lived in any land, 
And through the coming ages I shall stand 
A star outshining all the world has known." 
Thus spake the sage, but to himself alone ; 
For outwardly he wore a modest air ; 
So much he seemed to have this virtue rare, 
That he refused all praise as undeserved, 
And said that fame from truth's straight line had 
swerved. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 189 



One day this oracle a mad -house sought ; 

What, tell me, can a wise man here be taught ? 

What ? Wisdom ! patient wait until the end 

And see instruction on her steps attend. 

One of the fools approached and thus began, 

"Kneel down — I'll teach thee who I am! a man, 

The wisest that has lived in any land, 

Thou seest bodily before thee stand ; 

I am the Phoenix of the present day, 

And few among the ancients bore such sway ; 

On future ages e'en I dart the flame, 

The radiant herald of my deathless fame." 

A smile scarce seen passed o'er the wise man's face, 

And to himself he sighed. " In this dread place 

Is this poor fool confined for speaking nought 

But word for word, what mine own heart has thought. 

" What then! and do we both lack common sense? 
I almost think 't is true. The difference 
Is this ! Fools tell their thoughts, whereas the wise 
In silence think : here the distinction lies." 



190 COMMEMORATIVE TOE MS. 



Hauta at prager. 

(From the German of Matthesson.) 



Lo ! Laura prays. The harps of angels blending", 
God's sweet peace comes down her heart to heal; 

Like incense cloud from Abel's gift ascending, 
Her sighs to heaven appeal. 



See how she kneels, her soul in prayer outpouring, 
Beauteous as Raphael paints the Man divine! 

Celestial splendors seem around her soaring, 
Such as on angels shine. 



In the bright presence of the King immortal, 
Her griefs expire, and with enraptured sight, 

She sees the lofty palms through Heaven's portal, 
And there, her crown of light. 



COMMEMORATIVE TOEMS. 



191 



Wrapped in devotion, and on God relying, 
Throbs her young heart of angel purity ; 

Gazing on her, our spirits upward flying, 
That better land we see. 




NOTES 



Note 1. The modern ocean steamship is one of the most wonderful crea- 
tions of the present age. The progress of naval architecture kept pace along 
all other lines, and in the discussion incident to this question, fears were 
expressed that if the length of these ocean steamships was greatly increased, 
the danger of being strained or "broken at the waist" — in nautical phrase — 
would be well nigh inevitable if they attempted to make head against the high 
waves of an Atlantic storm. The experiment was made, and the fears proved 
groundless. 

Note 2. In the "Sketches of Lynn" the author has set forth many of the 
characteristics of the shoemaker's shop of the olden time. The character of the 
men found in these shops varied of course, as hereditary traits or the circum- 
stances of life determined. In some of them a " crew " would be made up of 
sober-minded citizens and their sons, many of whom were church members. 
In such shops, the conversation and songs bore the stamp of their current 
thoughts. In other shops, opposite characteristics were noted. A jovial crew, 
chiefly young men, would engage in conversation or sing songs that had no 
social or religious bearing. 

The size of these shops varied considerably, from some — few in number — 
small enough to be called a " salt box," some ten feet square, to a few fourteen 
feet, having a good-sized chamber. In winter, some of the " crew " might have 
been seen at work long before daylight, by the aid of a single tallow candle — 
but more commonly two — or Japan lamp ; and at night, as late as ten or later. 
The " scraps " were pieces of leather or other refuse, trimmed off in making the 
shoe. These made part of the fuel in winter, and the odor from these burning 
scraps was somewhat peculiar. The " tacks " used were mostly of small size, 
and easily lost in the litter on the floor. Various abbreviations and local phrases, 
well understood by those who talked and listened, were in common use. Thus 
New England rum — in distinction from the imported article — was often con- 
tracted to New. 

(193) 



194 NOTES. 

Note 3. The struggles of George Stevenson to introduce the locomo- 
tive into England is a chapter of history that furnishes a profitable subject for 
the student of social science. Among other notions, it was urged, these "fire 
horses " — as the locomotives were called — would make farming impossible by 
frightening horses and cattle used upon the farm. The Eastern Railroad — now 
the Boston & Maine— was opened in 1838. 

Note 4. But the marvels of steam as a motive power, and the revolution 
it worked in the social life of the people, were exceeded by the greater wonders 
of electricity. The establishment of the electrical works in Lynn, in 1882, made 
our city the grand center in the manufacture of electrical machinery and 
appliances. 

Note 5. The Free Public Forest. The common lands of Lynn were 
divided among the inhabitants in the ratio of their holdings of enclosed grounds. 
But the restrictions in this allotment kept the wood-lands in their primitive con- 
ditions as to occupation, and practically as to ownership, till 1881. In this year, 
Cyrus M. Tracy organized a body called the Trustees of the Free Public 
Forest of Lynn. The purpose was to acquire by gifts and purchase wood lots 
in Lynn Commons, as anciently called, and hold in trust for the enjoyment of 
the people of Lynn forever. Under this voluntary plan, about 150 acres were 
obtained in different parts of the forest. When the Water Board, in 1888, en- 
tered and purchased many acres in Blood's Swamp, and built basins and roads 
around them, a new value was given to woodland, which hitherto had been 
esteemed worth little except for the wood that might be cut from it. In conse- 
quence, sales to the Trustees stopped. In 1889, the Park Commission, with its 
power of taking by the right of eminent domain, continued the work begun by 
Mr. Tracy and his associates. 

Co-operating with the Water Board, the Commissioners secured all the 
territory lying between Walden Pond an,d Pine Hill, and between Lynnfield 
Street and Walnut Street that lies within the boundaries of Lynn. The Water 
Board is authorized to purchase the woodland in Ox Pasture on the water-shed 
of the ponds ^o the extent of about four hundred acres. The total public hold- 
ing will amount to about two thousand acres. 

The conception of a plan for a free public forest belongs to Cyrus M. 
Tracy. Those who followed were guided by his spirit and example. To 
record his zeal, ability and faithfulness in the task he undertook, is a feeble and 
inadequate recognition of our debt to him. 

Note 6. Jesse and Mary - Hutchinson were parents of the celebrated 
Hutchinson family, which numbered thirteen members — eleven sons and two 



NOTES. 195 

daughters — nearly all of whom were noted for their musical talents. Judson, 
John and Asa, and the youngest sister Abby, comprised the band of singers 
whose fame reached other lands. Jesse, one of the sons, built a cottage near 
the base of the famed High Rock, and in after years this cottage and its sur- 
roundings were the center of attraction to visitors from far and near. 

Note 7. On the 26th of November, 1889, occurred by far the most de- 
structive fire Lynn has ever known. It originated about noon in the rear of a 
wooden shoe factory, near Central Square, and raged five hours before the fire 
department, aided by thirteen steamers from the adjoining cities and towns, 
checked its progress. The fire burned over twenty-five acres, destroying three 
hundred and thirty-two buildings, whose assessed value was $1,010,000. Two 
years later, in 1892, the assessed value of the new buildings in the burnt district 
was $1,575,000. A new Lynn may be said to date from this period. During 
the years 1891 and 1892, 1359 new buildings were erected in the city. 

Note 8. The advent of Kossuth, to this country in 1851, was one ol the 
chief events of that year. The marvelous eloquence of this Hungarian exile 
aroused the people to a high pitch of enthusiasm wherever he appeared. The 
writer was one of a great audience that listened to his speech in Lyceum Hall. 

Note 9. Reference is here made to an ancient battle between the Medes 
and Lydians — 601 B.C. — made famous by an eclipse of the sun which occurred 
on this day. Both armies frightened by the unexpected phenomenon, fled in 
terror from the field of conflict. 

Note 10. Our Oracle. This name was given to a manuscript paper read 
monthly at the meetings of an organization known as the Young Men's Debat- 
ing Society, which had an existence in our city from 1852 to 1858. Its editor 
and chief contributor during a large part of this time was Nathaniel J. 
Holden — now Judge Holden, of Salem, Mass. — one of the original members, 
its first president and first editor. 

Note 11. Skating. About 1858, a new interest was awakened in this 
winter sport in this section ; and what was formerly chiefly a boyish amusement 
became a pastime for persons of all ages, and both sexes. 

Note 12. Three prominent members of an organization known as the 
Silsbee Street Debating Society. A full history of this Society is given in the 
author's "Sketches of Lynn." 



196 NOTES. 

Note 13. Wm. Lloyd Garrison, son of the renowned Wm. L. Garri- 
son. The father sometimes attended the meetings of the society of which his 
son was a member, and, by invitation, took part in the discussions — once, at 
least, within the recollection of the writer. 

Note 14. Gardiner Tufts, whose official position during the Civil 
War, enabled him to be of great service to the soldiers, and especially to those 
from Massachusetts. He had admirable qualifications for the delicate and re- 
sponsible work assigned him, in ministering to the wants of the wounded sol- 
diers, and in answering the numerous inquiries of relatives and friends. His 
State has honored him with a statue for his memorable service. 

Note 15. Theodore Attwill, one of the founders of this Society, and 
a constant contributor to the columns of the "Oracle ; " his^articles being marked 
by originality and a keen sense of humor. 

Note 16. Prof. Edward Johnson, one of the founders of this Society, 
a scholarly gentleman of fine literary taste. He delivered the introductory 
poem at the reunion of 1881, and also at that held ten years later. 

Note 17. James Edward Oliver, born in Lynn, Mass., 1829, an em- 
inent mathematician and professor of mathematics in Cornell University, 
Ithaca, New York, since 1870. In this department, he stands among the fore- 
most our country has produced. His visit to the city of his birth, in 1891, was 
made the occasion of the reunion of the members of the Society. 

Note 18. The name of Cyrus M. Tracy will long be remembered in the 
annals of Lynn. His versatility of talent enabled him to do many things well, 
and with great ease. He had rare literary gifts, and as a writer, whether of 
prose or verse, he occupied a high rank among the writers of our city. Of 
poetry, Mr. Tracy has published but little ; but that little bears the marks of 
genius. But the chief significance of his work is the service he has rendered in 
awakening the public mind to the value of our forest domain. (See Note j.) 

Henry L. Chase, a teacher of high rank in his profession, for twenty-six 
years principal of one of the chief grammar schools of the city. 

Note 19. J. Warren Newhall, a well-known writer, whose contribu- 
tions in verse, upon festive occasions, were frequent through a period of more 
than thirty years. 



NOTES. 197 

Note 20. John T. Moulton was one of the best known citizens of 
Lynn. The following facts, relating to his life and services, are taken from an 
obituary notice that appeared in the columns of a city paper : 

"His integrity, prudence and promptness made his services much in 
requisition for positions of public trust. He served fifteen years as Trustee of 
the Public Library, being also Treasurer of the Board. He was likewise Treas- 
urer of the fraternities of Associated Charities, of the Boston Street Methodist 
Society, and of the Trustees of the Lynn Free Public Forest. 

" He was a member of the Exploring Circle, the New England Historical 
and Genealogical Society, and likewise the Methodist Historical Society. 

" The people of Lynn are greatly indebted to him for the collection and 
preservation of much that is useful as well as interesting in her history. He 
has prepared copies of the earliest existing town records, and had them published 
in the Historical Collections of the Essex Institute. He has also collected and 
published the inscriptions from the oldest graveyards of Lynn, Lynnfield and 
Saugus, and has prepared genealogies of the Moulton and Mansfield families. 
He, in connection with Isaac O. Guild, was at the expense of erecting a suitable 
stone to mark the resting-place of " Moll Pitcher," the renowned fortune-teller 
of Lynn. 

" Mr. Moulton, it is agreeable to add, was always ready to contribute from 
his abundant store any information he might possess regarding our early fam- 
ilies, and the characteristics and doings of our fathers. And all the community 
will mourn the loss of one so worthy." 




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